To Teach a Young Dog Old Tricks
by Ambrant Arandel
Summary: My first fanfiction, so not really my best work. Inuyasha RK Crossover. Too many pairings to list. Kagome goes to find Inuyasha a sword instructor. Rated M for Safety. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

**A/N: **I am breaking my customary rule by posting this. Normally, I only post stories I have completed. This one however this one that I wanting to get opinions on in order to determine whether or not it is good enough for me to finish it. It has elements from two other stories that I have already posted, because I didn't know if I would ever decide to finish this story. So if you see something familiar don't be surprised and please review to let me know if this story is worth finishing. Please remember this is only a rough draft.

**To Teach a Young Dog Old Tricks**

The Rurouni Kenshin / Inuyasha Cross-time, Cross-over Adventure

Prologue.

As he drew closer to his destination, he could feel it getting stronger. Yes, there was a disturbance that needed to be dealt with. He had seen the outcome of the disturbance in his visions. If this was not rectified then the Earth would one day be destroyed. The man came to the edge of the continent. Before him lay the boundless ocean. Sighing, he held up his hands and began to float upwards surrounded in a nimbus of green light. His form then shot forward through the air toward the eastern horizon. Yes, he was getting closer, and he had to find it soon.

Chapter 1.

Shippou yawned and stretched as he heard the arguing. "Aww, please not now! We just got the sacred jewel back together. Can't we all just get along for a little while before you two start arguing again?"

Inuyasha and Kagome stopped growling at each other long enough to turn their gaze on Shippou. Shippou cringed at the look coming from both of them. "WE'RE NOT ARGUING!" they shouted in unison.

Sango sighed and managed to sit up. It was an effort after all they'd been through. Naraku and Kikyo were dead, and now the sacred jewel was whole again. Miroku and Inuyasha had nearly been killed in the conflict and Sango had been badly injured. Kagome had been hurt as well, but not seriously. Shippou was happy for that. Thanks to Inuyasha's half demon nature he had recovered almost as fast as Kagome. That only left Miroku who was still unable to get up and move.

Shippou chuckled. He hadn't seen Kagome or Sango at that much ease in a long time.

"I can't stay here Inuyasha. This isn't my time. I must return home. My mission here is over. The sacred jewel is safe, and now its time I took it back with me into the future." Kagome looked at the jewel and sighed. Shippou looked up at Kagome and nearly cried. In the time they had been together she had been like a mother to him. She had fed him, cared for him, and even played with him.

"Why, Kagome?" Shippou asked innocently. He tried very hard not to let the tears come to his eyes.

"What do you mean Shippou?" Kagome asked looking down at the little fox child.

"We don't want you to go back, Kagome!" Shippou grabbed onto Kagome's waist and pressed his now wet cheeks into her side. "Sango and Miroku are your friends. You've been my mother ever since we met Kagome! I love you like you were my real mother. Inuyasha loves you too if he would just admit it." Shippou let go and cried into Kagome's blouse.

Inuyasha snorted and turned his back to Kagome. He didn't say anything, but Shippou could just barely see the side of his face to see he was blushing.

"Please stay here with us Kagome. What's so important that you have to go back to your time anyway?" Shippou tried to be strong, but he had lost his parents before and now loosing Kagome would be simply too much.

Kagome ran her fingers through his hair and didn't say anything for a long time. Shippou looked up and saw the look of sadness in her eyes. She was about to speak when Inuyasha turned around and sat down next to her. He looked at her waiting to hear what she was going to say. Everyone in the room seemed to be waiting to hear her.

The stillness was at last shattered by Kaede; who came running into the hut as fast as her elderly legs would carry her. "Inuyasha, Kagome, something is going on outside. Please hurry."

Shippou ran outside behind Kagome and Inuyasha. The question had been left dangling, but maybe Kagome would have an answer for them after this, a good answer. Outside a man sitting in the middle of a green sphere of light was looking down on the village from high above. Inuyasha already had the Tetsaiga out ready to fight when he noticed that it wasn't transforming.

"Huh, what's going on here!" Inuyasha was quite perplexed by the sword. Usually when there was danger it would be several times its normal size by now.

The man in the bubble floated slowly to the ground. As he reached the ground the bubble popped and he dropped safely to his feet. The man was huge, towering over even Inuyasha. He was dressed in a gray robe that seemed to be made of all one piece. He also wore a gray cloak with a deep cowl over his head. As he walked towards Kagome, he lifted his cowl and had the most unusual face Shippou had ever seen. His hair was as gray as his cloak and a silver circlet held it back. He had a long gray beard, and bushy eyebrows. He looked as if his entire face were covered in hair, which was odd for a human.

As he approached Inuyasha stepped in front of Kagome. Shippou stepped behind Kagome and latched onto her lag for protection.

"I take it then YOU are the young sorceress responsible for this mess?" The man didn't even bother glancing at Inuyasha looking straight at Kagome.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a sorceress!" Kagome said confused.

"Then prithee lass, could you please be after explaining why you have subjugated two demons, have power radiating out from you like a beacon, and are wearing that magic jewel about your neck?" The man didn't look at all nice to Shippou. He really wished that Inuyasha's sword would transform.

"Two subjugated demons? You mean these two? They're my friends." Kagome looked dumbstruck. Shippou huddled closer as the man looked at first Inuyasha and then at him. "I see this little one has no visible signs of containment, but this larger one has been 'collared' so to speak. This is not your doing?"

"I am the one who placed the spell on Inuyasha." Kaede said stepping forward. "I am the priestess of this village."

"I see, then _priestess_, could you please explain what the devil is going on here? Why are you keeping demons in such proximity of a mighty artifact as this? Could you also please explain why I sense power radiating from this girl?"

"I see no reason to explain myself to someone who enters my village as ye did and acts so rudely. Please state YOUR business so that we may know if ye be friend or foe." Kaede said bracing herself and returning the man's stern gaze.

The man stared at Kaede for a few moments before finally speaking. "I am known as Alanor, and whether I am friend or foe depends entirely upon your answers. I came here because I sensed the presence of a powerful disturbance. One that could, in time, destroy our world. The center of this disturbance seems to be centered on this young woman. So again, I ask you, are you the sorceress responsible for this mess?"

Inuyasha growled. "Listen buddy, Kagome isn't a sorceress. Yeah, she can do a few things like Kikyo was able to do, but she isn't a sorceress. If I wanted to I would have been gone a long time ago and no stupid necklace would have stopped me. If you're after the sacred jewel then get in line or else get ready to fight me."

"Inu-yasha," Kagome said behind him, "why did you stay then?"

"I…" Inuyasha looked stricken for a moment. "I wanted the jewel, that was all."

The man looked annoyed as his hand glowed with a green light and suddenly Inuyasha was hurled to the side as if struck. The man moved forward until he stood directly in front of Kagome. Shippou had finally seen enough he sprang from behind Kagome and latched his teeth onto the man's leg. Biting down for all that he was worth.

Shippou felt himself lifted up as his grip was broken and found himself suspended by his tail a few inches from the nose of Alanor. Shippou cringed in spite of himself waiting to go flying like Inuyasha did. "Why do you attack me little one, when you know I can destroy you?"

"I won't let you hurt Kagome! She's been good to me!" Shippou cried pressing his eyes shut. He waited for a long time before opening his eyes a little. Alanor was studying him closely. Finally, he put Shippou down and looked back at Kagome. "Perhaps I have been too harsh. Could you please tell me what brings you here with that thing," he said pointing at the jewel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 2.

Alanor sat quietly while he listened to Kagome's tale. He was sitting in the hut of this woman Kaede who apparently was this village's protector. He listened as Kagome told him of her coming to the past, her being the reincarnation of a dead priestess named Kikyo, the Jewel of Four Souls, and the battles she and her friends had endured to reconstruct and to protect the jewel. She also told him of the jewel's origins, at least as far as she knew.

Alanor absorbed all this while he reached into the air and conjured one of his books from his special library. Opening it he leafed slowly through the pages while Kagome spoke. "So that's where the jewel came from it was inside the body of this priestess and it came out while she was fighting some demons. The flea could tell you more if he was here." Kagome finally finished.

"I have no reason to doubt your tale my lady, but that is not the jewels true origin. It was merely one step in its history." Alanor said finally finding the reference he needed. "The Jewel of Four Souls as you call it has several different names. Some call it the 'spirit orb', some the 'demon orb', and others call it 'the eye of power'. We'll stick to 'sacred jewel' now for convenience sake."

"You mean you know about the jewel?" Kagome said startled.

"Yes, apparently it has a very long history, a history that predates most other artifacts. It is one of the more dangerous ones too. No wonder demons are out to possess it." Alanor flipped through the history. "Apparently this jewel fell to earth around the dawn of time. A young woman who was out foraging and nearly starved to death then swallowed it. Since that time, it has been past down through her reincarnations granting each power in order to protect itself. This priestess you mention who had it within her body was probably one of the reincarnations of that first young woman. The jewel was probably transferred to the reincarnations of this Kikyo's soul when it was burned with her body."

"What all can the jewel do?" Kagome said perplexed. "We know it can make demons more powerful, but can it do other things? Kikyo wanted to use it to make Inuyasha human."

"I'm afraid that would have been impossible." Alanor said. He looked at the dog demon, which looked as if he were ready to throw up. "The jewels only power is amplification of innate abilities whether evil or good. The jewel that was within your body amplified your own innate magical abilities just as it did Kikyo's. Otherwise, your powers would be trivial."

"I don't know where you get that I have so much power. I mean I'm just a teenager from Tokyo. The only things I can do are shoot arrows that can hurt demons and go through the well." Kagome looked a little disturbed by this as well.

"That's because you are untrained. Thanks to the jewel, the power you hold within yourself is massive, possibly even excelling my own. You have the ability to become more powerful than you are right now. Only time will tell, I highly recommend that you look into it too." Alanor pressed the point hard. He wasn't about to let the Earth be destroyed because some slip of a girl from the future couldn't channel her powers effectively and couldn't protect the jewel.

"I don't know how you managed to get the jewel back, but now it's your responsibility. You are going to have to defend it."

Kagome looked at Alanor with horror written all across her face. "What do you mean? I just want to go home and return to my life of being a normal girl without having to fight off demons all the time!"

"I'm afraid that is not an option. As long as the jewel exists, it will draw demons to this world in search of it. They will seek out whoever defends the jewel and seek to destroy them in order to take possession of it. As heartless as it sounds, no matter where you go, there will always be demons trying to take the jewel from you. You might delude yourself into thinking that they have lost you, but sooner or later they will always find you. No matter where or in what time you hide, they will always come." Alanor looked at Kagome and for a moment pity crossed his features. It was a horrible fate for someone so young; his heart ached for the child.

Kagome was now crying. Alanor watched as the dog demon moved over to her and put his arms around her. Concern was evident on his features, but the girl seemed surprised. After a few moments however she quietly sobbed into his chest. "You mean if I go home to my own time the demons will eventually come there to get the jewel as well?"

"Yes."

"It's O.K. Kagome, I'll never let any demons take the jewel from you." The dog demon leaned into Kagome and then looked at Alanor. The look he gave him would have bored holes through solid stone with its intensity.

Alanor sighed. He couldn't let this little slip of a girl do this alone either, at least not without some substantial help. After all, the previous protectors of the jewel had all failed as well. He had to make sure it would be safe. "I can help you as well child. I can teach you to draw on the power you have within yourself and allow you to use them more effectively."

Kagome sniffed a moment against the chest of her dog demon. "What do I need to do?"

"Gather as much power as you can to defend the jewel, both for yourself and your allies. Train hard and make taking the jewel next to impossible for the forces of evil. It matters little what time period you defend the jewel in, but since your time is unaccustomed to dealing with demons I would suggest you remain here. Trips to your own time should be limited to visits." Alanor smiled trying to encourage her. "Look at it this way. Most young people from your time leave home to start out on their own at some point in their lives, this will simply be yours. It isn't like you'll never see your family again. You could even bring them with you if necessary."

"I can't. Only Inuyasha and I have been able to traverse the well." Kagome said sadly.

"This well of yours is most likely a node of some sort. Powerful beings are able to activate such things by their mere presence." Alanor looked at the dog demon. Apparently, there was more power there than he was giving him credit for. "With training you could be made to control the well enough to bring people through and even to adjust your travel. Remember though that time is a relative thing, it is periodic. You can't travel back for only a few moments, that's nearly impossible. The power required becomes too great. The best you can hope for is to be able to reach certain time periods. By that time the power requirements lessen enough to allow it to become feasible."

Kagome nodded as she followed along, "Oh I get it, so you mean it's easier for me to activate the well going back and forth between my time and feudal Japan than it would be for me to go back to yesterday?"

"Yes, but not only that, it is also difficult to move out side of the specific period of time you're dealing with. The bridge between your time and this one has a certain length. Changing that length so you can try to slip around the time restrictions to time travel are nearly as impossible as going back for a few minutes." Alanor said sagely.

"How long is a period?" Kagome asked confused. "I don't know exactly." Alanor confessed. "No one has ever managed to accurately measure it. We do know that it tends to be several decades. Just remember going between time periods is one thing, but you will arrive on the corresponding day of one time period that is reflected in the same day of the time period you leave. It's called the Law of Conservation of Temporal Mechanics. It's very important. The law can be broken but takes massive amounts of energy that neither you or I combined could muster."

Kagome nodded. "I guess I had better go home and let my family know what I'm going to be doing then. They won't be happy to find out that I'm dropping out of school though."

Alanor thought for a moment. "You shouldn't have to give up your education simply because of this."

"Any ideas how I can still graduate while spending nearly all of my time in the past?"

"Well, since your family has been explaining your absence from school as illness, we can simply tell your teachers that your grandfather has decided to have you schooled at home by a private tutor."

"Yeah right. Like my family could afford a private tutor!" Kagome said doubtfully.

"I assure you my rates are VERY reasonable." Alanor said dryly.

"You?"

"You had someone else in mind? I need to teach you how to use your powers. Teaching you simple things like mathematics and the like won't be overly difficult for someone like myself." Alanor said.

"Aren't you from this time period?" Kaede interjected.

"Yes, from a place called Brittania in this time period. I crossed the European and Asian continents to get here and find you. I am human, but I belong to an order of men western cultures call 'wizards'. We have some members of our order who have traveled to your time and actually lived there. We generally try to experience all time periods so that we can learn to react with people from any period. We also educate ourselves as much as possible. You are from Tokyo, are you not?"

Kagome looked startled. "Yes I'm from Tokyo."

"Where is this 'Tokyo'?" Sango asked interested.

"You're in it right now." Alanor said amused. "This village will grow into a huge city by Kagome's time. It will be called Tokyo in that time, though it will not always be named that."

"I wouldn't mind seeing Kagome's time." Miroku piped up from where Sango had helped him to sit.

"You just want to see all the women running around in skirts as short as Kagome's you pervert." Shippou shot at him.

"Regardless, I should be able to teach you better than your own time, since not only my own arts but a great deal of history gets lost over the years. You'll have better historical knowledge than most college professors by the time I'm done with you. For now though rest. It will take me some time to gather the books you are going to need for your new education. In the meantime, why don't you show me this well of yours?"

Sango and Miroku stayed behind while Alanor followed the rest of them to the well. He was a bit surprised when he saw it. It was a fairly potent magical nexus point. He and his brothers didn't have a great deal of information on the eastern practices of magic, but maybe it was time to start paying more attention.

"Very well, this can be your first lesson then on how to control time travel. The trick is to concentrate on a person or an event that occurs in the time period that you are aiming for. If you want to take someone with you, you merely have to hold their hand as you initiate the jump and imagine their presence in the time period as well. That's the gist of it, but it isn't as easy as it sounds. We'll try it a few times before I let you do it on your own."

The afternoon passed quietly as Alanor taught Kagome how to move back and forth. Finally, she seemed to have the basics down so he bid her farewell after he returned with them to the hut.

"I will leave in the morning to return to my dwelling where I will gather the books I need. I should be able to return in about three weeks." Alanor said wearily as he stopped outside the hut. "I think I shall sleep by the river. The air is clean and the night is warm enough and I don't get the chance very often."

"Thank you, Alanor-sensei." Kagome said bowing to him. "I look forward to learning from you." Alanor merely smiled and went down to the river.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 3.

The mysterious old man left early the next day. He created a glowing sphere around himself and shot off like a light across the landscape headed for the west. Kagome watched him go before heading into Kaede's hut and looking through her packs. She had just found what she was looking for when Inuyasha came in.

"So Kagome, what are you doing now?" he said as he entered the hut.

Kagome glanced up at him and then put her finger to her lips, pointing at the Kaede and the others who were still asleep. "I'm trying to find a way for you to become more powerful." She whispered.

This immediately granted her Inuyasha's undivided attention as he sat next to her looking at the thing she had extracted from her pack. "Is that a spell book from your time?"

Kagome chuckled for a moment. "No silly, this is a history book. I remember reading about something that might be useful to us."

Inuyasha scratched his head for a moment. "How's history going to make me more powerful?"

"Simple. I've been reading about Japan's history in the century prior to my own. It was the time of industrial revolution as well as political revolution. There's an excerpt here from the Meiji Era that talks about the great swordsmen of the day. It's said that they were some of the greatest swordsmen that ever lived. Men like this Kenshin Himura, Aoshi Shinomori, and Hajime Saitoh."

"I still don't follow you."

"It's simple. We'll take you forward in time and have one of these men teach you how to fight with a sword!"

"WHAATT!" Inuyasha's voice hit the roof, along with everyone there as they bolted upright out of their futons. "There is nothing wrong with the way I fight!" Inuyasha said heatedly.

"No one is saying there is Inuyasha, but it wouldn't hurt for you to know a variety of fighting techniques and sword styles. It will make you a more flexible opponent." _And maybe you won't get your butt kicked by Sesshomaru either…_

Inuyasha sat down getting calmer for a moment while he thought it over. Everyone else started to rouse and move around since they were already so rudely awakened.

"Can I go too?" Sango said getting up. "I heard what you were talking about and I'd like to go."

"Yeah me too, Kagome." Shippou said bouncing over to her from where he had been sleeping in her sleeping bag.

"Not this time Shippou, it's going to be hard enough covering Inuyasha's appearance while we're there. In fact it would probably be a good idea to let me and Sango take a look around to make sure we know what type of clothes might be appropriate for you to put on while we're there Inuyasha."

Inuyasha grunted and stalked back outside. "Fine. I'm going hunting."

"Please bring back an extra fish as well, Inuyasha." Kaede called after the retreating demon. "How exactly do you and Sango intend to fit in Kagome?"

Kagome thought for a moment. "Well, people where kimonos in my time as well as in yours. It's a traditional Japanese garment after all. If I can borrow a kimono from you Sango, we'll both be on our way."

"What about weapons?"

"Well, it says in the book here that swords were outlawed in the Meiji Era, and imagine that your boomerang wouldn't fit in the well very well, so I guess we'll have to leave them. The only problem after that is going to be what are we going to do for money."

Kaede walked over to them and sat down. "Why don't you take some of the medicines you've been helping me make?"

Kagome thought for a moment. "I guess that might work. I don't know if they'll still be used in that era, but if it doesn't work we can always come back. We can pack some food in case we aren't able to sell them. I don't know how long it's going to take for us to find the men we're looking for, but hopefully we'll be back in a few days."

Kagome and Sango changed into kimonos while Shippou held a blanket down over Miroku's head. He tried to struggle claiming he couldn't breath, but hurt as he was he wasn't going anywhere. Finally the two girls packed up their parcels of food, herbs, and Kagome's history book and set out for the well.

The two of them reached the well and Sango started looking around. Kagome looked around for a few moments as well before they hiked up their kimonos high enough to climb down into the well. "One of these days I'm going to have to invest in a ladder." Kagome said nearly out of breath when they reached the bottom.

Kagome took Sango's hand and began imagining the Meiji Era and imagined her and Sango standing there amidst the buildings of Edo. She felt the power surround her and Sango let out a startled gasp as the two of them disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 4.

Sanosuke stood in front of the temple praying. _I really, REALLY, need to get some good rolls today. Please let this be my lucky day. If I don't Tae's going to kill me over the tab I've run up._ Sanosuke stood up suddenly as he felt something. It felt like someone had just walked across his grave. He wasn't any good at reading chi like Kenshin, but he could pick up things occasionally.

Not knowing exactly what to think after sensing something like that after a prayer, Sanosuke walked around the temple and stopped dead in his tracks. Two young women were climbing out of the old dry well on the temple grounds. They had their kimonos lifted up so they could climb over the edge, showing off some VERY nice legs.

Sanosuke smiled, maybe today WAS turning out to be his lucky day.

He pulled himself back from the wall for a moment to make sure he didn't startle them and walked around the wall just as they were smoothing out their kimonos. "Excuse me, what are you ladies doing here?" He said sauntering up to the two attractive young women.

The two of them looked at him startled for a moment and then looked at each other before one of them replied. "We just came by the temple on our way to the market. We're not from around here, so we were a little bit lost."

"I'll say; what are you doing snooping around the old well?" Sanosuke asked suspiciously. He wasn't the brightest star in the night sky, but he'd been around the streets long enough to pick up on a blatant lie.

"We were looking for herbs. My family sells medicines and I was looking for some rare herbs down in the well." The young woman looked at Sanosuke with the largest, please believe me eyes he'd ever seen. Oh well, no sense pressing them where they didn't want to answer. After all, they looked harmless enough.

"Who are you anyway, I've lived here for a while but I don't remember seeing you two." _And believe me, with a cute couple of young ladies like you two I'd remember._

"My name is Kagome. Kagome Higurashi, and this is my sister Sango." The other one looked startled for a moment but then turned to Sano, "Pleased to meet you."

Sanosuke nodded to the two young girls and then introduced himself. "Sanosuke. Sanosuke Segara. Pleased to make the acquaintance of two pretty young ladies such as yourself." Well, at least they blush like normal girls.

"Can you help us please? We're looking for the marketplace and we don't know our way around very well. We need to find someplace to sell our medicines. We'd be happy to pay you once we sell them." Kagome asked.

Sanosuke nearly bit the fishbone in his mouth in two. It WAS going to be his lucky day. "Sure I even have a pretty good idea where to take you." Kagome and Sango followed Sanosuke out of the temple as he headed down the steps and headed out for the clinic.

Kagome looked across the desk at the old man that Sanosuke had called Dr. Gensei. The old man looked at he medicines before finally setting the last package of herbs down. "Amazing. Some of these herbs are very hard to get nowadays. How did you come by them young lady?"

"My teacher, Kaede-sama grows some of them." Kagome said truthfully. "The rest we gathered out in the forest."

"Indeed, I'd like to see what this woman has in her garden," Dr. Gensei said merrily. "These are some very good herbs. I'm sorry, but I can't even pay you as much as these are worth."

Kagome decided that she liked Dr. Gensei. He was kind and had a sweet disposition. "That's alright. Whatever you can give us will be fine."

Dr. Gensei nodded and wrote out something on a sheet of paper. "Megumi, will you take these ladies over to the new bank and have them pay these young ladies?"

"Certainly Dr. Gensei," the older woman promised. "If you girls will follow me."

Megumi lead the three of them down the street to the new bank. Kagome had to choke down a startled yelp when she saw the building. She recognized the 'new' bank immediately. It was not far from her home in her own time. She even remembered the large concrete cornerstone that said '1875'. It was a historical landmark to her though.

The four of them walked through the front and Megumi quickly had the money brought out to them. Kagome remembered that money was exchanged differently as she saw Sanosuke nearly choke on his fishbone. In her time, this wasn't very much money. Sango didn't even know what money was.

"Thank you Megumi-san," Kagome said happily. "You've been a great help."

"You might want to keep this freeloader with you while you're walking around in Tokyo with that kind of money. He may not be too bright, but he can take care of the street trash that might try to harm two young women." Megumi said looking at Sanosuke with narrowed eyes.

"I can…" Sango started to say until Kagome poked her in the ribs. "That would be wonderful. So you're a street fighter?"

"Uh, yeah." Sano said scratching the back of his head.

"I guess that explains you having 'bad' written across your back."

Megumi snickered, and Sano actually looked abashed for a moment before nodding.

Megumi went back to the clinic and the three of them started back towards the temple when Kagome turned to Sango. "Hey Sango, it's nearly lunchtime. You want to go get something to eat? I know we brought our lunch, but we may not get a chance like this for quite a while."

Sango nodded and Kagome turned to Sanosuke. "Do you know of any good restaurants around here?"

Sanosuke looked sheepish for a moment before answering, "Well there is a pretty good restaurant up ahead called the 'Akabeko', but I'm not allowed to go there for the moment." Sanosuke said with a sheepish grin trying to laugh.

"Oh, why not?" Sango asked looking at Sanosuke suspiciously.

"Well, I'm a friend of Tae, the owner, and I seem to have run up a little bit of a tab. I'm not allowed back in until I pay it off."

Kagome smiled at Sanosuke's thinly veiled look of pleading. She liked him too. He might be a freeloader, but Kagome could tell when someone had a basically good heart. "Well, we did offer to pay you for helping us. It sounds like an even trade." Kagome could see Sano light up as she told him.

Kagome looked at the food they had ordered. She hadn't realized how different the money worked between her time and this one. She had given Sanosuke money for helping them. It wasn't much as far as her time went, but his eyes had nearly jumped out of their sockets. He had insisted on paying for lunch, and the owner had been overjoyed to be paid. Kagome looked at the food in front of her stunned. It was a feast. Sango was similarly impressed.

"We need to bring Kaede's medicines here more often." Sango said over a bowl of Miso soup.

Kagome nodded. A girl might actually be able to make a living at this. Maybe they could visit the marketplace and bring some things back to Kaede after they were done. It was then that Kagome remembered why they were there. Pulling out her book she flipped to the part about the Meiji Era swordsmen. She looked at the first name on the list. Apparently, he was considered the best.

"Sanosuke?" Kagome said innocently.

"Yeah little missy, what can I do for you now?" Sanosuke said as he drank some sake.

"Do you know where I can find a man called Kenshin Himura?"

Kagome did not expect the reaction. The man sat up and barely managed to turn his head from the two of them before spraying sake everywhere. A young waiter was unfortunate enough to have his back to Sanosuke serving one of the other tables and as a result got a dousing.

"Hey Sano! What's the big idea?" The young man turned on Sanosuke and looked ready to clobber the tall man.

"Sorry Yahiko. These ladies just asked me where they could find Kenshin."

The young boy looked over at the two of them and regarded them coldly for a moment. "You better not. Kaoru would be unbearable." With that the boy turned and headed for the back of the restaurant to dry off.

"I take it you know Himura-san?" Kagome said hopefully.

"Yeah, I know him." Sanosuke didn't look happy and didn't look like he was going to offer any information.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked, confused.

"Nobody comes looking for Kenshin unless there's trouble involved. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to know what you want with Kenshin before I even think about telling you where he is."

Sango looked at Kagome and then looked back at Sano. "I take it he has a lot of enemies?"

Sano was looking at Sango like she was stark raving mad. "Yeah, something like that."

Kagome shook her head in frustration. "Look, we don't want any trouble with Mr. Himura. We need his help is all."

Sango looked at Kagome and shook her head. "I don't know Kagome, if he's got a bunch of enemies, we may not want him helping us."

Sanosuke looked at the two of them. It was obvious they had no idea who they were asking about, but people who came looking for Kenshin generally knew exactly what they were looking for. The two of them still looked like harmless young ladies though. They probably weren't going to try to kill Kenshin on sight, but if they were spies Kenshin might be able to find out who had sent them.

A dark little plan started forming in the back of Sanosuke's mind. They wouldn't be able to hurt Kenshin, they weren't even armed, but he imagined the look on Kaoru's face when he showed up on the steps of the dojo with two pretty young girls asking for Kenshin. He could follow them later to find out whom they were spying for.

Finally Sanosuke reached a decision, "OK I'll take you to him."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 5.

The entire affair had surprised Kagome. She never could have believed that she would be so lucky as to find the swordsman so easily, and had never seen anyone react like Sanosuke had. At first he wasn't willing to help them at all, and now he was leading them to Kenshin Himura, one of the greatest swordsman in recorded history. Which, it turns out, lives in a dojo not far from the temple they had started from this morning.

The young boy had been equally puzzling. Sanosuke had insisted they wait on him so he could go with them to the dojo. It was therefore evening when they reached the entrance to the dojo.

Kagome and Sango stepped into the yard of the dojo behind a grinning Sanosuke and an equally mischievous looking Yahiko. "Hey, Jou-chan! Kenshin! Anybody home?"

Kagome watched as a young woman stepped out of the dojo followed by some guy with red hair. The two of them came across the yard to where Sanosuke was standing.

"Hey Kenshin, these two are here to see you. Either of them look familiar?"

"Oro?"

Kagome noticed that the woman suddenly looked at Kenshin with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. This did not bode well. Kagome tried to get right down to business to avoid any confusion. "Yes, Mr. Himura. We came to inquire about enrolling someone in your dojo…"

"WHAT? HIS DOJO?" the woman with the red haired man shrieked. Kagome noticed Sanosuke and Yahiko were already rolling in the yard laughing. Kagome looked to Sango for help but Sango had a blank stare on her face.

"Yyess… this is where Kenshin Himura lives isn't it?" Kagome stammered.

"Yes, this is where he stays, but this is MY dojo!" the young woman said heatedly.

"Oh, dear. I am so sorry. You must be Mrs. Himura…" Kagome didn't know what else to say. The woman suddenly looked as if she had been hit upside the head. Her face went red, but fortunately not from anger. She stammered herself for a moment before hiding her embarrassment.

"You two did this didn't you!" she screamed and suddenly pulled out a wooden sword beating Sanosuke and Yahiko senseless even while they were laughing. The resulting scene progressed until Yahiko and Sanosuke were running around the yard being chased by this insane woman wielding a stick.

Kagome massaged her temples for a moment and tried again. "I'm sorry. This has been a total disaster." Kagome was getting ready to leave and head back to the well, when the man with red hair finally spoke.

"You're looking for me?"

Kagome turned to the man in the pink gi. He definitely didn't look like the greatest swordsman that ever lived. "You mean you really ARE Kenshin Himura?"

Kenshin bowed slightly as Sango watched Yahiko valiantly trying to climb a tree to escape the wrath of the woman with the sword. Sanosuke had already been clobbered. "Yes, I live here under Ms. Kaoru's roof. She is the owner of the dojo."

"So you work here?" Kagome said confused again.

"Yes."

"You do teach here right?"

"No, Ms. Kaoru is the instructor. I only do the laundry and cooking."

Kagome couldn't remember fainting. When she looked up she was inside, and Sango was looking over her worriedly. Kenshin and Sano sat off to one side waiting patiently. The young woman, Ms. Kaoru was it, was just coming in carrying some tea.

"Oh, you're awake. I'm terribly sorry for the misunderstanding," Kaoru said shooting a murderous stare over at Sanosuke. "It seems you were made unwitting accomplices in a very tasteless practical joke."

Sanosuke started to snicker until Kaoru shot him another glance. "I believe you said something about wanting to get some training in the martial arts?"

Kagome sat up and took the tea thankfully. She took a sip and looked at Ms. Kaoru, who was apparently the one in charge. "Yes, I came looking for Mr. Himura to see if I could get him to teach someone swordsmanship."

Kaoru looked at Kenshin who looked back at her with a shrug. "I'm afraid Kenshin doesn't teach swordplay. The only thing we teach here is Kamiya Kasshin Style."

Kagome was still not working this through right. "You mean Mr. Himura doesn't use Kamiya Kasshin Style?"

Kaoru once again looked stricken. "You don't know anything about Kenshin do you."

Kagome looked down at the cup embarrassed. "No, not really. We were… told… that he was the best swordsman in all of Japan. That's why when Sanosuke told us that he lived in a dojo, we assumed he taught here."

Kaoru actually smiled for a moment before turning to Kenshin. Kenshin looked at Kagome and smiled. He was definitely a cute man. "I'm sorry Ms. Kagome, but I won't teach anyone my fighting style. It's going to die out with me."

Kagome looked at Kenshin before she sighed heavily. She reached over to her book and pulled it open flipping to the chapter she had book-marked. "Then can you tell me something?"

"Certainly. If I am able."

"Can you please tell me where I can find Hajime Saitoh, or Aoshi Shinomori?"

Kagome looked up at the people in the room and saw startled expressions on all of their faces. Kaoru managed to find her voice first. "Exactly where have you heard about these people?"

Kagome put her book away and tried to give them a winning smile. "I was told that the three best swordsmen in all of Japan were Kenshin Himura, Hajime Saitoh, and Aoshi Shinomori. I came here trying to find one of them to teach swordsmanship to someone."

Kenshin shook his head as if confused. "Saitoh and Aoshi are both in Kyoto at the moment. Saitoh will probably be back in town on business at some point, but Aoshi stays in Kyoto."

Kagome tried to wrap her mind around it. She'd found the greatest swordsman in all of Japan and he was serving as a butler to a woman that wielded wooden swords at her friends like a madwoman. She thought things were odd in the feudal era?

Kagome was just about to ask another question when she suddenly felt a surge. Something was happening nearby. She jerked her head up and started looking around for its source as Yahiko burst into the room. "Kenshin, something's going on up at the temple!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 6.

Kaoru had to give Sano and Kenshin credit. All the things they had been through had primed their reaction skills. Kenshin and Sano were up and out of the dojo like a light following Yahiko. Kaoru got up and joined Sango and Kagome by the gate to the dojo. On the hill where the temple resided a faint glow could be seen among the trees.

Sango was suddenly very nervous. "Kagome, tell me that isn't what I think it is…"

"Yup. It is." Kagome said starting to look panic stricken. "We would have to leave all the weapons behind!"

"Don't worry girls, Kenshin and Sanosuke can take care of almost anything." Kaoru said trying to put the girls into an easy feeling she herself didn't share.

Kagome looked at Sango, but Sango was shaking her head. "That sword that Kenshin was carrying is probably made of ordinary steel. It might not have any effect."

Kaoru was about to say something when Kagome turned to her suddenly. "Ms. Kaoru, do you have a bow and arrow?"

"Yes, I think there's one in the storage shed for hunting…" Kaoru said hesitantly. She watched as Kagome reached down, hiked up her kimono and ran far all she was worth for the storage building. A few minutes later she rejoined Sango with the bow and arrows and the two of them went running for the temple. Kaoru stopped only for a moment to look around the deserted street before pulling up her own kimono and ran after them. It was unlady-like, but that hadn't stopped her from other such stunts before.

Kaoru came skidding into the turn to run up the steps to the temple right behind Kagome and Sango. Ahead, Kaoru could hear Sanosuke and Kenshin.

"KAMI-SAMA, KENSHIN! WHAT IS THAT THING?"

"I don't know Sano, but we better stop it before it leaves the temple grounds."

They just reached the top of the stairs when Kaoru stopped dead in her tracks and let her kimono fall back into place. Sango, Yahiko, and Kagome had stopped there as well, and all of them were looking up at a giant.

The thing stood around nine feet tall. It had huge muscles and was covered in hair. It finished stuffing a tree down inside an old well and turned towards the six of them. It had a beak instead of a mouth and had three red eyes. It took one step forward and Kaoru could feel the tremor of its footfall jar her teeth.

Kenshin was already leaping at the thing. He was so brave; Kaoru couldn't help but be moved by his selfless defense of the people he cared for. Sango was already running forward as well while Kagome loaded an arrow.

"Get out of the way you idiots!" Sango was screaming as Kenshin launched his attack. Kenshin connected with a beautiful shot that knocked the creature backwards, unbalancing it. Sanosuke followed up with that super punch of his and the creature went flying backwards with a huge welt across its chest from Kenshin and a crater in its abdomen from Sanosuke.

Sango actually stopped for a moment with her eyes going wide as she saw the creature collide with on of the temple buildings and crush one of its walls. Kenshin and Sanosuke had very pleased grins on their face and looked ready to congratulate each other when the thing got up.

Kaoru felt a cold knot forming in the pit of her stomach as the thing stood up. The last traces of the wounds they had inflicted were disappearing as it charged Kenshin and Sanosuke.

Kaoru started to scream, but Sango was already there knocking the two of them to the ground screaming "Now, Kagome!"

Kaoru watched as the young girl loosed the arrow from the bow she had borrowed. As the arrow left the bow it began to glow with a purple light until it struck the beast in the chest. The flash of purple light was nearly blinding as the creature fell apart. Kaoru didn't know how else to describe it. At one moment the creature was there minus a rather large hole in its chest, and the next moment it had crumpled to dust.

Kaoru and Yahiko rushed over to help up Kenshin and Sanosuke. They both had haunted looks on their face as they looked at the mound of dirt and then looked at Kaoru.

Kenshin regained his composure first. "Kaoru-dono, what just happened?"

"I don't know Kenshin…" Kaoru said looking over at the two young women who were now looking at the huge tree wedged into the well and looking at each other with concerned expressions. They all stood there for a moment looking at each other with stupid expressions on their faces.

Kagome finally got up the courage to speak. "I guess we've got some explaining to do, huh?"

Soujiro looked around for the third time. There it was again, a fleeting sense of someone following him. He'd felt it first as soon as he left the last village he'd come to. Now the feeling lingered for a moment longer than it had the previous two times.

Soujiro turned to continue walking along the road. He decided it was time to find out who this stalker was. After all, if they wanted to catch up to him that badly he could at least oblige them and if the situation was something he couldn't handle he'd simply run away.

It was amazing. He had never used his running ability to run away from a conflict before meeting Himura. Now he used it to avoid conflicts that would have required him to kill again. He hadn't made any vows like Himura had, he still wasn't convinced that killing totally unnecessary in all situations. It was just that killing someone, as a last resort, hadn't actually presented itself in any of his conflicts. There was usually another way.

Soujiro felt the presence once more it was in front of him now and it was coming fast. He looked around desperately for some sign of an attacker before finally looking up just as a flash of blue collided with his chest sending him sprawling to the ground.

He suddenly couldn't breathe very well. That was when he noticed that someone had a hold on his wrists and they were straddling his chest pinning him down. He had managed to draw his sword, but it was laying a few centimeters from his fingertips. Soujiro looked up into the face of his attacker and into the most stunning set of emerald eyes he had ever seen. He lay there stunned for a moment, not from any injury, but from the realization that there was a beautiful green-eyed girl on top of him. Oddly, she looked familiar.

"Ah ha! I've got you now Tenken!" she said staring down at him with an almost evil glee in her voice.

"Oh, really?" Soujiro said with his usual smile on his face. "I was just curious then how you're planning on killing me or tying me up without letting go of my hands."

The young girl looked at Soujiro's sword and was obviously not prepared for such a dilemma. This gave Soujiro a moment to think. He could easily curl his legs up and kick her off of him, but that would mean hurting her. He normally didn't care about whether or not he hurt people who attacked him, not even Himura was that bad. However this girl didn't radiate malevolence of any kind, and well, hurting pretty girls just wasn't equated in his new way of looking at things.

The girl still hadn't made up her mind as to what to do then so Soujiro opted to try overpowering her. With a sudden rush of strength, he grabbed her wrists pushing them around her sides until he had them pinned behind her back with each of his arms curled around her. He rolled and tried to sit up as well as the girl struggled against him. After a few moments they managed to stand, her with her arms still pinned behind her. It was then that Soujiro realized he had managed to pull her body against his and their lips were now in VERY close proximity. The things one thinks about when attacked by pretty women.

"I'm sorry about this miss…" Soujiro started.

"Misao. Misao Makimachi." The young woman glared at him a moment as the two of them stood there. Soujiro realized this was the closest he'd ever been to a girl. It made him very nervous.

Misao apparently had misread the nervousness. "So, realized who you were dealing with?" She said smugly. "Or are you just coming to realize that now YOU can't go anywhere without releasing me."

Soujiro stopped and thought for a moment. She was right. If memory served this was the girl that had accompanied Himura the first time they'd fought and she was reported to be a pretty good aim with those kunai of hers. There didn't seem to be a really good way out of this situation. Not that he was complaining about the current situation mind you.

Soujiro's thought were interrupted as he heard a cart coming up the road they were standing on. Acting quickly, he kicked his sword off into the grass and lifted Misao. "You pervert!" she yelled at him as he picked her and ran behind a tree. It wasn't until he put her down with her back to the tree that he realized his head had been resting against her bosom. "Sorry." He said lamely.

The two of them stood there for a few minutes as the cart came rolling into view from behind the tree. An old man guided an ox that pulled the cart, which was apparently full of rice barrels; it just HAD to be rice barrels. The old man stopped and stared at the two of them before shaking his head.

"You kids need to find some other place to go and do your business. This is a public road after all!" The old man said disdainfully.

Soujiro was blushing furiously. Looking down he noticed that Misao was as well. Without thinking he quickly let go of her arms and stepped back scratching the back of his head. "Uh, sorry sir." He flashed a smile at him hoping to placate the old man and shuffled his feet a little.

The old man snorted and started his cart moving again. Soujiro and Misao waited until the old man was well out of sight. Soujiro looked at Misao, who was still blushing, and thought for a moment. "Why didn't you cry out for help?"

Misao looked at Soujiro as if noticing him for the first time. "He was only an old man. He couldn't have done anything about it anyway and I'm not about to involve somebody in one of my battles especially against a murderer."

Soujiro bent over and picked up his sword. Without looking he buried it into the wood next to Misao's head as she reached for her kunai. It had the desired result as she stopped dead still. She looked a little startled as she said, "Are you going to kill me now?"

"I've gotten out of the habit of killing pretty young girls." Soujiro said bluntly. "What are you doing following me anyway?"

Misao was blushing again but managed to regain her composure. "I was sent to find you."

"By who, I didn't think Aoshi wanted me dead that badly."

"He doesn't." Misao said hotly. "My Aoshi doesn't hire out the Oniwaban group as assassins! I was sent to find you and bring you back!"

"Sorry Misao, the end result is the same whether it's by an assassin's hands or the police's hands I still end up dead."

"No, no. Nothing like that." Misao said exasperatedly. "A short while back someone came to the Aoiya looking for you. It was that freaky guy Kamatari. He said that he had been to see Anji and that Cho thought he could get him out by bribing the right people. Normally I don't agree with bribing government officials, but Anji was an OK guy. Anyway, Kamatari said that he was looking for Shishio's hidden stash of money to get the money necessary to spring Anji. The only problem was that the only people who might have known where it was happened to be either dead or wandering; namely, Yumi or you. So, Aoshi-sama sent me to find you since we had reports that you were somewhere near Tokyo."

"She." Soujiro said distracted.

"What was that?"

"She. Kamatari prefers to be thought of as a woman."

Soujiro tuned out the rest of the conversation as she went on about how easily she had found him, how great her Aoshi-sama was, and how he was now her prisoner and would be coming back with her to Kyoto_. Shishio-sama's fortune._ Now THAT was something he hadn't expected. Everybody thought that Shishio had spent nearly all of the money he had on buying the Purgatory. Soujiro smiled about that. Actually, the money had originally been Himura's. One of Shishio's ironic plots on revenge. He and Himura both had earned a great deal of money killing during the Bakumatsu. Himura had refused the money when he had become a wanderer. Shishio however had accepted his and Himura's both. He didn't have the heart to tell Himura that it had been HIS money that had funded Shishio's rebellion.

"Hey are you listening to me!" Misao had moved in front of him holding a kunai up to his throat. "I said you're my prisoner! So get moving!"

"OK, this way then." Soujiro turned sheathing his sword and started walking.

"Kyoto's this way you JERK!"

"I know. We have to get the money first though. That, and I have to ask someone's permission before I use it." It was only fair after all. Since the money wasn't really his to give away, he would give what was left to Himura-san. It was only fitting since Shishio had taken his money.

Misao ran to catch up to Soujiro. She settled into step beside him as the two started out for Tokyo.

Kagome looked into the uncomprehending faces of the Kenshin-gumi. They had sat quietly listening to her tale over tea once they returned to the dojo. "So, you mean to tell me that you're some kind of time traveling sorceress?" Sano was saying.

"No, I'm not a sorceress!" Kagome snapped at him. "I guess the closest thing you could call me is a priestess. That's what the majority of my training has been in up until this point, thanks to Kaede. Though Alanor-sama may have different training in mind once he gets back. _Gets back and finds I'm not there too…_

"And you're from the past…" Kaoru was trying to get a handle on this as well.

"No. Actually, I'm originally from the future. I traveled back to the past where everything has been happening and now I've come to your time seeking help." Kagome was getting the impression that these people thought she was absolutely bonkers.

"So, that thing was a demon. I guess that's why our attacks didn't seem to have any effect on the creature." Kenshin was saying looking at his reverse blade sword.

This time it was Sango who jumped in. "Actually it varies from demon to demon. Some demons can be stopped with normal weapons made of steel, but the vast majority have managed to acquire immunities to attacks not made by special weapons. Really, most of the demons NOT able to ignore normal weapons have been killed off by this point leaving only the powerful ones."

"Are you a priestess from the future too?" Kaoru said with some fascination.

"No, I really am from the past. I'm the last of my clan of demon exterminators. We hunted demons for generations before I met Kagome and Inuyasha. I've been aiding them for the past several months to recover the sacred jewel that Kagome was telling you about." Sango looked at the four of them and then glanced back at Kagome with a little bit of confusion. Were they getting through to them? All they did was sit there, staring at them wide eyed.

"Well, how are YOU able to kill demons." The young one, Yahiko was saying.

Sango turned to him and began patiently explaining. "We made weapons from the bodies of dead demons to use against them. Swords made from their fangs and bones, clubs too. Personally, I use a large boomerang or else I use a demon bone kodachi."

"Where's your weapons now?" Sano asked finally. "And I thought you two were sisters."

"Well, SOMEONE thought that we would attract too much attention walking around the Meiji era with weapons." Sango shot Kagome a withering stare. "As for being sisters, we lied. Kagome has a surname, but I don't." At this Sango turned her gaze down and said it almost meekly.

"Sango, you can be my sister if you want to be." Kagome said shyly. "We've been through so much together, it would really help me to know that if I have to stay in the past I could have someone near me I could think of as family."

Kagome looked at the shocked expression on Sango's face. Kagome knew how much this must mean to her since she had lost her entire family to the demon Naraku. Sango beamed at her and the two caught each other up into a sisterly embrace. Both of them were crying a little.

"Sango Higurashi. I love the sound of it." Sango said saying the name to herself.

Kagome couldn't turn down the chance for some mischief. After all, they were sisters now right. "I wonder what Miroku would think about being Miroku Higurashi?"

Sango was suddenly very startled. "You wouldn't adopt that lecher into your family would you?"

"No," Kagome said with mock innocence. "It's just that he doesn't have a surname either so he'll probably take the surname of whoever he marries." Sango was immediately blushing and Kagome giggled to herself.

"Uh, excuse me, but I need to know one more thing." Kenshin said pulling the two young girls back from their private moment. "Will there be any more demons coming after you. I have to be concerned for the safety of Kaoru-dono."

Kagome suddenly remembered the well. "I don't think so, not as long as the well is plugged, but I need to get it unplugged as soon as possible. The demons are after this jewel, so if I leave, they'll most likely come after me and forget all about you."

Sano nodded. "That at least isn't a problem. I should be able to turn that tree into chopsticks in a matter of seconds. I can go do that tomorrow."

"Thank you, Sano. We told Kaede we would be back in a few days and I hope to get back before Inuyasha gets worried and comes to look for us." Kagome said thankfully.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 7.

"This isn't good." Soujiro said looking at the policemen standing around the temple near the Kamiya dojo. He moved back from the edge of the bushes to crouch next to Misao. Together, they slipped back past the ring of guards who were standing there trying to figure out how a tree had become wedged into the dry well on the premises. The temple buildings had also been severely damaged and the police were looking for signs of the vandals.

The two of them slipped past the sentries standing at the stairs and froze there in the shadows. In the torchlight they watched as a carriage stopped in front of the temple. The door opened and out stepped Hajime Saitoh. "Saitoh! What's he doing back from Kyoto so soon?" Misao gasped as she ducked down next to Soujiro. There wasn't much room to hide so she found herself pressed closely to Sou's back as they lay on their stomachs in the under brush.

Misao watched as Cho came walking down the steps carrying something and stopped in front of Saitoh. It was pitch black so Misao fumbled around to get close to Soujiro's ear so they wouldn't be heard whispering. She cupped one hand over his ear on the opposite side of his head to cover any background noise and leaned close to whisper as softly as she could. She could just feel the skin of Soujiro's ear against her lips as she whispered trying to make it so faint no one would hear. "We have to get closer to Saitoh to hear what they're saying."

She felt Soujiro nod under her hand and the two of them moved close enough to hear Cho's conversation.

"Yeah, seems like this is the only sign of a weapon being used on the premises." Cho was saying to his enigmatic boss.

"Was there any blood anywhere?" Saitoh said taking a long draw off of his cigarette.

"No, but the boys found a strange mound of dust heaped near where the wall had been demolished. That and of course, the fact that there's a tree stuffed upside down in the old dry well." Cho reported.

"Hmmm. I'm willing to bet the Battousi has something to do with this."

"Frankly chief, I know the Battousi is a good swordsman and all, but I don't think he really has the strength to stuff a wad of cloth down a drain pipe much less a tree down a well. From the looks of it, it looks like it was uprooted." Cho snorted.

Misao was shocked to hear Saitoh chuckle in spite of himself. "The Battousi can surprise you sometimes." He said almost admiringly. "But in this case I know this area a little better than you do. Believe me, if there's anything strange going on around here you can believe that Kenshin Himura knows something about it. Besides, he practically lives next door to this place. If he didn't hear a tree being stuffed down that hole then he's slipped worse than I'd hoped."

Saitoh looked over in Misao's direction and she could swear he smiled directly at her. Nonchalantly, he flipped his cigarette over into the bushes near Misao. Soujiro gasped and Misao clapped her hand quietly over his mouth. Soujiro started to squirm a little and Misao moved to whisper in his ear again. This time she was practically nibbling his ear lobe. "Do you want to get us caught be still!"

Saitoh and Cho began speaking about Kyoto. They mentioned Aoshi and Kamatari for a few moments and then started discussing other things. Misao could feel something wet falling over her hand clamped over Soujiro's mouth and she started to smell something. Was it smoke?

Misao looked around to see a small curl of smoke coming from the cigarette. It was sitting dead center of Soujiro's back. Misao quickly reached over and flicked it off into the weeds and leaned close to Soujiro. "I am soooo sorry, Soujiro. I'll make it up to you."

Saitoh and Cho were winding up their conversation. "So did you see any sign of the Tenken?" Cho asked conversationally.

"No, he is particularly elusive. I imagine it will be quite some time before we're able to catch him." Saitoh said.

"Kamatari seems to think he knows where Shishio's treasure is hidden." Cho said as well. "I hope she's right. That would be a great help to the government if it were found. I'm sure if I were able to bring that in to the government that they'd give me a really big promotion, and then maybe I could help Anji get out of prison."

Misao began to feel just a little bit uncomfortable. Something smelled funny, and it wasn't Soujiro's burnt gi. Saitoh just looked at Cho for a few long moments and then shook his head. Misao could swear she heard Cho snicker as he got into the carriage. Saitoh stayed in the street.

"Yes, getting that money back should be our first priority. We can track Soujiro down later. I'm going to stop off at Himura's dojo and make sure he knows I'm back in Tokyo before I go back to the station. I'll only be a few minutes."

The carriage pulled away and Misao watched as Saitoh turned to walk down to the dojo. She could have been mistaken, but she could have sworn she heard him say something like 'morons' before he disappeared from sight.

Soujiro and Misao slipped away from the temple. They followed Saitoh to the door of the dojo and then went to climb a tree and wait until he left.

Kagome thanked Kaoru for her hospitality. Yahiko was booted from his room to make room for Kagome and Sango when a knock came at the door of the dojo. Before anyone could respond, a policeman stepped through the gate. Kenshin practically hissed as the policeman walked up to the porch where they were all sitting.

"What do you want here Saitoh? I thought you weren't due back from Kyoto for some time." Kenshin grumbled.

"Can't I come visit my favorite laundress anymore?" Saitoh said smugly. "I'm here on official business Battousi, so please watch your tone. I was wondering if you had seen or heard anything pertaining to the temple at the top of the hill. The one you can see quite clearly from here."

Saitoh looked at Kenshin as if daring him to deny it, but Kenshin wasn't to be goaded. "Yes, as a matter of fact we saw some strange lights up there. We assumed it was some kids who had gotten their hands on some fireworks. It was quite loud if I recall."

Saitoh's eyes twitched almost imperceptibly. "Yes, several witnesses said they saw lights coming from on top of the hill and a series of loud crashes." Saitoh straightened himself. "Regardless, until we get an answer we're sealing off the temple grounds. We'll launch a full investigation. Good night everyone."

Saitoh turned and started for the gate. "Oh, by the way, Battousi. You may want to be careful. The fugitive Soujiro has been seen in the area. He is reported as having been seen in the company of that weasel-girl Misao. He's nothing but trouble so you might want to tell her that it wouldn't be smart taking up with the likes of him."

Saitoh went out as he came in and Sango let out an explosive sigh. "Is he always like that?"

"Actually, this was one of his more polite moments." Sano said.

"What's he like when he's being impolite?" Sango said aghast.

"Last time he ran a sword through my shoulder and knocked a hole in the wall of the dojo." Sano said without a trace of humor in his voice.

Sango looked at Sano for a moment, nodding with a blank stare on her face, before turning to Kagome. "I don't care if he IS in that book of yours, we DEFINITELY don't need him teaching Inuyasha anything. He's bad enough as it is."

Soujiro had heard the majority of the conversation. It had been his turn to cover Misao's mouth at the comments Saitoh had made about her being a weasel. It had been all he could do to grab her arms before the kunai started flying. He was fairly certain Saitoh had known they were there, but had kept up the charade for the sake of his men. He wanted Shishio's treasure and was willing to let them run free if it meant getting it.

His back still smarted like crazy so he was glad when Saitoh finally disappeared. He hopped down with Misao and walked into the dojo behind her.

"Hello everybody!" Misao cried running over to hug the girl that Soujiro remembered being described as Kaoru, Himura's woman. He recognized Segara as well, but the boy and the two other young girls were a mystery. He stayed at the edge of the light for a moment before he heard Kenshin's voice. "I thought we might be seeing you shortly Misao," Kenshin said to the girl, "I am glad to see you as well Soujiro-san, I was sorry I did not have the chance to speak with you before you left Kyoto."

Soujiro planted his trademark smile firmly on his face. "It seemed the more prudent course of action." Soujiro said happily. He was a little amazed at the gathering of people around the dojo. Himura was undoubtedly the oldest, but the rest of them were all pretty close to his age with the exception of the young boy.

"Soujiro's my prisoner!" Misao cried happily. "I'm taking him back to Kyoto with me as soon as we find his treasure!"

"Treasure?" Everyone said in unison turning to Soujiro with questioning eyes.

"Actually it isn't my treasure. It was what was left of Shishio-sama's money after the Kyoto project fell through." Soujiro said politely.

"Anyway," Misao continued, "Lord Aoshi sent me to find Soujiro so I could bring him back to Kyoto with the treasure. Aoshi-sama will be so happy when I bring him back."

"You mean Aoshi actually let a weasel girl like you out of his sight to go chasing after one of the most deadly assassins in all of Japan?" the young boy said snorting. "If I remember right you're the only one of the Oniwaban group other than Aoshi himself who actually knows what Soujiro looks like!"

Before he could stop her, the kunai went flying and the kid was pinned by his sleeves to the wall of the dojo. "Yahiko you jerk!" Soujiro was surprised to see no one else seemed to notice the attack except for the two young ladies off to one side by themselves. Well them and Yahiko of course.

"Please come in Soujiro, Misao. We'll have some more tea before bed. I think I may need a little bit more than tea the way this day has been turning out." Kaoru said in exasperation.

"I think I'll pass little missy," Sano said as he pulled the kunai pinning Yahiko to the wall out and tossed them back to Misao, "I'll take the squirt and head back to my place for the night. It looks like you're going to have your hands full of guests."

The young boy immediately latched onto Sano's head and started biting into his spiked hair. Soujiro watched stupefied as Sano merely started walking carrying the young boy off with him.

Soujiro went inside and had a seat next to Misao. He smiled at Kaoru as she served him tea like he was a normal guest. It was quite disturbing. The silence filled the room for a moment before finally one of the two young women spoke.

"Excuse me, Misao is it?"

"Yep, Misao Makimachi at your service who are you?"

"My name is Kagome Higurashi, and this is my sister Sango. Did I hear you right when you said 'Lord Aoshi'? Did you mean Aoshi Shinomori?" Kagome looked at Misao almost skeptically.

"Yes, that's my Lord Aoshi." Misao said with stars practically appearing in her eyes. "Why, do you know him?" Misao suddenly looked extremely dangerous to Soujiro. He hoped that Kagome's answer was going to be a definite 'no' for her sake.

"Not really," Kagome said clueless to the look on Misao's face, "but I am looking for him. I need to hire him if possible."

Misao's face immediately brightened. "Of course, the Oniwaban group are the finest ninjas in all of Japan and Aoshi is our leader. I can deliver any messages you would like to him."

"Thank you." Kagome said. "I'm looking for someone to teach a friend of mine the art of sword combat and your Lord Aoshi comes HIGHLY recommended."

"I'll be sure to pass that along to the leader." Misao said seriously. "I'm going to send him an intelligence report tomorrow of everything that's going on in Tokyo. I'll be certain to include it. He may even wish to come here himself to secure the treasure."

"I thought YOU were the new leader Misao," Kaoru said looking at Misao suddenly.

Misao actually blushed. "I was but Okina said that it might get Aoshi out of his depression and get him out of that stupid temple if he had some real work to do. I stepped down, and now Aoshi is leading us again." Misao said brightly.

"How are things between you two then?" Kaoru said hopefully. Soujiro was amazed at the speed at which Misao's mood shifted. HE definitely couldn't move that fast. Misao began sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh Kaoru, it's even worse now! Now he actually has business to do that keeps him away from me. Before it was just his stupid meditation and I at least I could serve him tea. Now he doesn't even have time for that of a morning. It's almost like he's avoiding me."

Kenshin nodded sadly and then turned to Soujiro while Misao composed herself. "So you are looking for Shishio's treasure?"

Soujiro looked at Misao worriedly before turning to Himura. "Actually, Himura-san, by rights it's YOUR treasure." Soujiro was quietly pleased that this time everyone turned to look at Kenshin in surprise.

"Ma… My treasure?" Kenshin said in disbelief.

"Yes, Himura-san. I had quite forgotten about it after Kyoto. Nearly everything was lost when the Purgatory sank. Nearly all of what Shishio-sama had was used to purchase that battleship on the black market. Then it was gone." Soujiro said still wearing a smile; after all, it hadn't been HIS money.

"But not all of his money?"

"Actually, when you left Kyoto after the revolution they didn't know what to do with your fortune so master Shishio claimed it and added it to his own. He used your money and his to finance the grand fire project." Soujiro hated to do this to Himura, but honesty was also becoming part of his new life philosophy.

All things considered Kenshin took it quite well. He looked down at his tea and his eyes grew distant. Soujiro decided it was best to get this over and done with quickly. "Master Shishio had only one thing left to do with the money he had left. He sent me here with it when, ahem, we first met. I was supposed to frame you for the assassination."

Kenshin didn't look like he was hearing a word that Soujiro was saying until he stopped. Finally he looked up. "Why didn't you?"

"I couldn't. You left Tokyo too quickly, and I was forced to leave the money behind where I hid it in order to get back to master Shishio ahead of you." Soujiro removed the smile from his face.

"Now Kamatari has shown up enlisting the aid of the Oniwaban group to find the money to supposedly pay for getting monk Anji out of prison for his role in the uprising. Misao and I also heard Cho and Saitoh mention the fact that they were looking for the money as well. I thought that the most proper thing to do would be, since it isn't my money, to give the money back to you, since Shishio-sama had stolen it from you in the first place, and to ask you if we could use the money to free monk Anji." Soujiro didn't like speaking so much, but he preferred laying all the cards out on the table for Himura.

Kenshin thought for a long time before he answered. "I have no desire to possess the blood money the government tried to give me for the killing I did during the Bakumatsu. I didn't want it then, and I still don't. If it will help get monk Anji out of jail, then use the money any way you want. It is the least I can do for him since he saved Misao in Kyoto and to help atone for the money I left behind being used to finance the uprising."

"Thank you, Himura-dono." Soujiro said respectfully. From what he knew of Himura it was the reaction he had expected. He bowed deeply to him nearly touching his head to the floor when he heard Misao gasp.

"Soujiro, your back! I didn't realize the burn was that bad!" Soujiro had actually forgotten about it. His back still stung whenever he moved too much. "Ms. Kaoru," Misao said seriously, "do you have room I can have for the night. I'm not letting Soujiro out of my sight. He's my prisoner, and besides I need to tend his wounds."

Kaoru smiled. "Certainly, Misao. We can put you in the main hall or something." Soujiro realized why Himura had stopped wandering. Frankly, the more he thought about it, he was surprised he left Tokyo to go fight Shishio. The lady was beautiful, her deep eyes and dark hair made her smile seem even more attractive. Soujiro thought he was in trouble for staring to long when he heard Kenshin clear his throat. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed.

"They can take my room Kaoru-dono. I'll sleep out on the porch in front of your room, in light of things that have happened tonight." Soujiro caught Kenshin glancing in the direction of the two young girls before continuing. "Soujiro, I need to know one last thing. Where is this money that you left in Tokyo?"

Soujiro nearly fell backwards, he'd almost forgotten. "That's a problem actually. I buried it."

"That's OK, we can get Sano to help us tomorrow and we'll go dig it up."

"I don't think so Himura-san," Soujiro said almost wincing. "It seems I buried it at the bottom of this dry well up near the temple and now there is apparently a tree stuck in it. I'm sorry I have no idea where it came from."

Soujiro watched the display. Kenshin slapped his forehead, the two girls fell backwards, and even Kaoru looked perplexed. He and Misao were totally lost. "Well, at least Lord Aoshi will have time to get here before we get to the treasure." Misao said hopefully.

After that, Soujiro and Misao were taken to Kenshin's room. Kenshin laid out a second futon for Soujiro and took his things outside, promising to discuss it more in the morning so that they could come up with a plan. Misao asked Kaoru if she had any burn medicine. Kaoru brought the medicine to Misao who thanked her.

Soujiro sighed in relief as he finally peeled out of his burnt gi. It still throbbed a little and he had no idea how badly he was burned. Pretty badly if Misao was to be believed. "It's a good thing that Kaoru-dono had some salve for the burn." Soujiro said trying to take it from Misao.

"Oh no you don't. You can't even reach the place on your back. I promised to make it up to you and I meant it. Take your shirt off and lay on your stomach. Anyway, Kaoru probably got it from Megumi when she and Kenshin were training in the kitchen."

"Is Kenshin really that bad a cook?"

"No, Kaoru. HE was trying to teach HER."

Soujiro stared at Misao in disbelief for a moment. Surely she couldn't be serious.

"Are you going to lay down or what?"

Soujiro lay down on his stomach. "Yes ma'am. I'll try not to make my jailer to angry with me." Soujiro winced as Misao poked his burn.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 8.

Misao looked down at Soujiro's back. She tried not to stammer as she looked at him. She had never seen this much of Aoshi's chest and back but she hoped it was half as toned and muscular. Soujiro really was a beautiful young man. What was most remarkable was the fact that he was perfect. Except, for the burn on his back, which wasn't that bad now that the burned gi had been removed. It was totally unblemished. _Nobody's ever been able to hit him before._ She thought to herself. This actually scared her a little. That would explain the butterflies in her stomach. Even Aoshi and the other late members of her beloved Oniwaban group had some sort of battle scars. They even bragged about them. Soujiro was perfect.

Misao gulped involuntarily. If he had wanted to, he could have easily killed her when she had attacked him. Aoshi had told her only to find him, but she had determined to bring Soujiro in trussed up like a goose to impress her Aoshi. Misao changed her opinion of Soujiro. He was friendly, and kind from what she had seen so far. It just didn't add up.

"There. You deserved that." Misao said impishly. "You know you don't act like a cold-blooded assassin. It's almost unbelievable to hear you talk about it with Himura." Misao took out some water in a bowl and some cloth and started cleaning Soujiro's wound tenderly. Soujiro had to admit it made it feel a LOT better.

"Don't be deceived. Everything you've heard is probably true and more."

"You don't seem so bad though, Sou-chan." Misao said dipping the cloth and returning to cleaning. Soujiro didn't think the wound had been that big, but then he hadn't seen it either.

"Sou-chan?" Soujiro asked stupidly.

"Well it sounds better than Soujiro-san." Misao said plaintively. "I'm sorry you got burned. You didn't even move after I grabbed your mouth."

"I didn't want to get caught. I learned to distance my self from all kinds of pain a long time ago." Soujiro tried to make his voice his usual cheery self, but somehow this time he failed. Misao stopped washing his back for a moment. "What kinds of pain?" She said softly as she went back to washing his back.

Soujiro tried to hold it in but found he couldn't. He'd never really talked about it with anyone. He wasn't comfortable talking about it with anyone. For a long time he shut it out completely while he had become the emotionless assassin for Shishio. It had become increasingly hard since meeting Himura to hold it in, now with this gentle woman touching him tenderly and speaking to him softly it burned within his chest to come out. "You really don't want to know Misao. Someone like you doesn't need to be stained by the presence of people like me."

"Sou-chan no baka!" Misao said poking his side. Soujiro jumped in spite of himself. He'd never realized he was ticklish; no one had ever dared try. "You and Kenshin are two of a kind, you know that. Kaoru keeps trying to get him to open up to her and he keeps telling her pretty much the same thing. Well, I'm here to tell you buster I'm not Kaoru!" She started again with the side poking. "Finding out information is what I do best so you better 'fess up." Misao voice actually dropped back down to a soft and gentle whisper again almost instantly. It amazed Soujiro how she did that. "I only want to help."

Soujiro lay there for a few moments more before he spoke. "I learned early to block out all kinds of pain; emotional, physical, and mental. My mother was a courtesan and I was the illegitimate son of a rice merchant." Soujiro felt Misao go back to washing him. The water felt like it was soothing more than his burn. "When my mother grew tired of me she took me to my father's house. You can guess how my new 'mother' greeted a bastard child. I was shunned until my father died when I was about five. After that I became a slave to my father's real sons who were grown men. I worked every day carrying rice barrels. I wasn't allowed to stop until I had done all the work they had given me to do. It usually took me all day and most of the night as well."

Misao had stopped washing and now started patting his back dry with a towel as Soujiro continued. "I was beaten, exhausted, and hurting. I started smiling so that they would get tired of beating me and leave me alone. I would hurt so bad I finally started shutting it all away. The physical pain, my heart's anguish, all of it. That was when master Shishio found me. He spared my life in exchange for sanctuary from the police. I helped him and he was taken back by the fact that I always smiled at him. That was when he gave me his wakisashi. I think he expected me to kill myself, or maybe he pitied me. Regardless, he told me that the strong survive and the weak die. He then waited to see which one I was. I hid the sword, and finally had resolved to give it back to him, but by that time my family learned of what I had been doing and they tried to kill me. I ran at first, but when they caught up with me I had nothing but master Shishio's sword." Soujiro felt the tears rolling down his face. He sobbed a little as he went on. "I killed them. I killed my entire family. The pain was so much that I couldn't bear it; I was only eight years old. So I did the only thing I could do. I shoved the pain away like I had for so many years already and tried to forget about it. That was what Shishio taught me. I killed anyone Shishio asked in order to pave the way for his new order because I believed in what he told me 'The strong survive, and the weak die'." Soujiro felt Misao's gentle arm on his shoulder and felt her towel wipe away his tears as he closed his eyes.

"It's alright Sou-chan. I'm here. What do you believe now?"

"I still don't know." Soujiro managed as he regained his composure. Misao moved back to his burn. He felt the cool touch of the salve as she poured it onto his back and began to spread it over the wound. "I had hoped to wander until I discovered the answers that Kenshin found. From what I understand he has similar problems. I just wish I could get a grip on life like he has." That was the best way Soujiro could put it. What he wanted to say was, 'I think Kenshin wandered until he found Kaoru and she _was_ his answer'. Soujiro felt Misao's gentle hands caressing his back. He had never felt anything like it, unless you counted the flirtatious passes Kamatari was always lavishing him with. This was different though. He remembered the feel of Misao's lips against his ear at the temple, and the feel of her hand on the nape of his neck as she pulled his head close. He had thought then that the pain of the burn had been almost worth it, now he knew for sure.

Soujiro groaned contentedly as tension he never knew was there left his body. It was then that he realized something. He hadn't burned his shoulders and Misao was straddling his backside. "Uh, Misao? I didn't burn my shoulders."

"Shut up silly. I told you I would make it up to you and I am. Just relax and be quiet." Misao scolded him but the gentleness in her voice betrayed her.

Soujiro wondered about it. Was this what it had been like for Kenshin? This girl whom he had know for but one day had managed to pry more of his secrets out of him than he had ever shared with anyone. Her gentle touch and voice had been a balm to his aching soul even as the salve had been a balm to his burn. Did Kaoru give this to Kenshin? Redemption. Someone who could look at the darkness in his soul and still find it in them to say 'It's alright. I'm here.'

Soujiro had never been this close to a woman before, emotionally or physically, and he drank in the experience gladly. Still something had been left behind by what Misao had done. There was a new burning in its place. He didn't know enough about emotions yet to call it love… but he could definitely call it… curiosity. Why was Misao like this for him? What made her so special, that she could do this to him within a day of meeting him? He tried to think of a way to find out and finally chose the best path he could think of.

"Misao, what is Aoshi like?"

Soujiro nearly cursed himself as her gentle massage suddenly stopped. He didn't draw an easy breath again until she started again. "Why do you ask?"

Soujiro couldn't really think straight so he defaulted back to what he already knew of Aoshi. "Well, I didn't get to know him at all when he came to join up with Shishio. I met him and all, but I really didn't get a feel for what he was really like."

Misao seemed to relax a bit before she continued. "He's strong, quiet, and so calm he's icy. I've known him all my life, and I know I love him, it's just…"

"Just what?" Soujiro asked honestly curious.

"He never seems to pay attention to me. He's always pushing me away. He's always protected me, like a big brother, but he won't look at me like I'm a woman."

"Oh, that." Soujiro said absently. He added 'needs glasses' to his mental list of traits about Aoshi.

"What do you mean 'Oh, that'. You don't know anything about Aoshi and me do you?" Misao sounded almost pleading.

"No, no, no, it's not that." Soujiro said quickly. "I was just curious about something."

"Like what?" Misao said suspiciously. She had stopped rubbing Soujiro's back and lay down next to him so she could look into his face.

"Well, I kind of thought Aoshi was well, you know, gay." Soujiro said. The response from Misao was electric and immediate.

"What!" Misao squeaked as she managed to flip Soujiro over and land on top of him. One of her kunai flashed angrily under Soujiro's chin. "You better explain yourself."

Soujiro swallowed slightly and waited for Misao to calm down. When she finally slowed down her breathing Soujiro tried to explain. "It was when Aoshi was with us in the Juppon Gatana. Nobody really gave him the time of day except for Kamatari."

Misao's eyes were threatening to escape from her head so Soujiro pressed on. "Kamatari likes to flirt with men. Honestly, I think she might prefer women over men, but no one in the Juppon Gatana REALLY wanted to get close enough to ask that question. Anyway, Kamatari liked playing flirting games with all the men to unsettle them. Even I was uneasy when Kamatari decided to play with people. She would rub up against the rest of us and say things I won't repeat. She even did it to Aoshi when he got there."

Misao sat up. She looked extremely dangerous in that moment. Soujiro looked at her sitting on top of him and tried to stay focused on the story. He had to admit thinking of Kamatari helped quell such thoughts. "The thing that caught my attention was that Aoshi didn't flinch. He didn't run, he didn't shrink away; he even talked to Kamatari about things within the Juppon Gatana. The rest of us thought that he must have enjoyed it not to run for cover when he saw Kamatari coming."

Misao didn't respond for a little while. Finally she shrugged. "Lord Aoshi is icy. He ignores everybody it seems. Nothing can faze my Aoshi."

Finally, Misao slid off to the side of Soujiro and lay there looking up. "I guess we had better get some sleep, huh?" Soujiro said finally.

"Yeah, I guess." Misao said dejectedly.

The two of them lay there for a long while until sleep finally took them. Soujiro slept better than he ever had in his life, with dreams of deep green eyes and dark braided hair comforting him where once his nightmares lingered.

"I guess that is a problem." Sano said over breakfast. Everyone was gathered around the table talking about the problem of getting the treasure without tipping off Saitoh. "I really would like to help get Anji get out of prison, and help these little missies get back to their own time. I'm pretty sure I can bust up the tree readily enough, but I can't do it with Cho and his goons lurking about. They'd ask too many stupid questions. You know how policemen are."

"Why is this monk Anji in prison anyway if the rest of the Juppon Gatana were offered deals in exchange for their services?" Sango asked.

"Anji killed three men before he joined the Juppon Gatana. He's a fallen monk, but he's trying to repent." Sano said simply.

"And you're wanting him OUT of jail?" Kagome asked confused.

"Yeah, well, I can't say I wouldn't do the same in his shoes. The three men he killed burned the orphanage he was running to the ground. The five children he was taking care of died in the fire, all because he was a Buddhist. Anji was so enraged he set aside everything he believed in and took vengeance on the men just because no one else in the government cared. He really is a good man. He kept one of Shishio's goons from killing Misao and he taught me some of his techniques. He also took care of me when I was injured during the uprising. I guess you could say I owe him." Sano looked down. "Of all of Shishio's men, he's the least deserving of prison and the only one who wound up there."

Kenshin leaned against the wall. Soujiro had also been numbered among Shishio's men but he couldn't really hold the boy responsible for his actions. He had killed because that madman Shishio had warped his sense of self and reality. He only hoped that Soujiro found the answers he was looking for. Kenshin felt Soujiro getting closer. He and Misao had gone out early to the Oniwaban agent here in Tokyo to have a message sent to Aoshi. Kenshin actually smiled. Soujiro was the only 'prisoner' he'd ever heard of that was allowed to carry his sword.

Soujiro and Misao came in through the gate walking towards the dojo with Megumi bringing Dr. Genzai's granddaughters. Kaoru was keeping them today because the good doctor had an operation to perform. All of them were smiling, talking and laughing. _I guess a man can be taken prisoner by more than just chains._

Kenshin looked at Kaoru who was talking with Kagome about her own time. He was definitely her prisoner. He didn't think after everything they'd been through together he could leave her again if he wanted to.

"Is there any breakfast left?" Misao said jumping into the dojo and having a seat with Soujiro next to Sano. "Or did Yahiko eat everything already?"

Kenshin smiled as the fight started over the top of Sano. It was amusing to feel so at home here. Finally, Yahiko was settled and Misao set to eating. "I guess I better start training, Yahiko said as he got up from the table."

Sango got up too. "Do you mind if I join you. I haven't had a chance to train in a while." Yahiko looked aghast. "But you're a girl! Well, I mean ugly's a girl too, but she doesn't count."

Sango only smiled while Kaoru looked around to find something to throw at Yahiko. "You remind me of my little brother. Trust me, I won't hurt you." Sango said smiling.

"Hey, are you calling me little!" Yahiko screamed as he headed for the dojo. Kenshin got up out of curiosity and went to watch. He noticed everyone else did as well. They all came into the drill hall where Yahiko was getting a spare training sword for Sango.

Everyone settled around the edges of the room to watch. Kenshin found two little girls curling up in his lap shouting encouragement to anyone who would listen. It almost made the hell of the Bakumatsu worth it to know there were days like this in store for the world.

Yahiko bowed and dropped into his stance. Sango merely nodded and crouched low. Kenshin didn't recognize her fighting style, but Misao drew in a breath quickly. "That looks like one of the styles the Oniwaban uses!" Misao said with her eyes going wide. Kenshin remembered something about Sango being a ninja from the past, but could she be one of the ancestors of the Oniwaban?

Yahiko attacked ferociously. He was getting much better; he had bested one of the Juppon Gatana by himself. He was turning out to be quite the young swordsman. Sango however was extremely swift. Kenshin realized her fighting style centered mostly around speed and aerial attacks, jumping around one's opponent to avoid their attack. No wonder Misao recognized it. She used a modified form of this style herself. If she actually used a sword, it would probably have been identical.

Kaoru was shouting reprimands to Yahiko. "Sword up Yahiko!" "I taught you better than that!" "Pay closer attention next time." It was only a matter of time however before Sango managed to disarm Yahiko and leave him panting.

"Wow, you're good!" Yahiko said breathlessly.

Sango wasn't even winded. Kaoru got up and walked over to Sango. "That was very good. Do you mind if I try?"

Sango smiled and bowed to Kaoru. Kaoru took out her trusty sword and returned the bow to Sango. "Yahiko, go sit next to Kenshin, and pay close attention. If there is anything you don't understand ask Kenshin to explain it to you."

Yahiko grumbled about bossy instructors, but did as he was told. He sat down next to Kenshin and said, "This ought to be quick."

"Don't underestimate Kaoru-dono, Yahiko." Kenshin said pleasantly. "She doesn't get a chance to fight someone that is her equal very often like this."

"Look who's talking…" Yahiko said quietly.

"Oro?" Kenshin said.

"You're the one who acts like she'll break if you breathe on her. If this was a real fight you wouldn't be letting her in there would you."

Kenshin sat back thinking about it for a moment. No, probably not.

Sango and Kaoru squared off. Kenshin had to admit it was a very even fight. Sango's style was just as defensive as Kaoru's, but hers specialized in dodging while Kaoru's specialized in blocking and protection. The two of them fought back and forth for several minutes, with neither one getting the upper hand.

Both women were breathing heavily when finally; Kaoru dropped into a stance and made a sudden leap forward going into an uncharacteristically offensive attack. Kenshin's eyes were as wide as the river. She had just used one of the simplest Hiten Mitsarugi Ryu techniques. Kaoru caught Sango off guard and brought her down swiftly. Then with a broad smile she reached down and helped Sango up.

Apparently, this hadn't been lost on Yahiko either. "Kenshin, did she just do what I think she just did?"

Kenshin nodded silently as Kaoru turned her attention to Yahiko. "Yahiko come here."

Yahiko stood up and went to stand in front of his teacher. Kaoru looked down at him almost fondly. "What did you learn, Yahiko."

"I learned you've been watching Kenshin fight!" Yahiko said excitedly. "Will you teach me that move?"

"No, Yahiko I mean in more general terms, and no I won't teach it to you. Kenshin doesn't want to pass on his fighting style and we have to respect that."

Yahiko was obviously disappointed. "Well, I guess I should say that I can't always expect my opponent to only know one fighting style, and that I should be ready to expect them to change styles or modify their own."

Kaoru actually beamed at him. "That's right. Now that's enough practice for today. You've got chores to do."

"Aw, what if someone else wants to spar?"

"I wouldn't mind it." Soujiro said. "That is if Mr. Himura doesn't mind."

Kenshin looked at Soujiro warily. That could be messy. "I don't think Kaoru-dono would want to replace the floor of the drill hall." Kenshin said plaintively.

"Oh. That's all right Mr. Himura. I won't use my speed techniques since I sincerely hope you weren't planning on using your special techniques." Soujiro said with his usual aplomb.

Kenshin sighed and handed the girls to Sano. He and Soujiro got up and walked into the dojo as Kaoru and Yahiko sat down. Yahiko was grinning from ear to ear and was getting out a writing pad. "Now we're going to learn something good!"

Kenshin grinned inwardly. Well let's see how well you can follow us then Yahiko.

Misao watched as Soujiro bowed to Himura and both of them took up their fighting stances. She was a little bit nervous about this. She hoped no one got hurt.

Soujiro practically disappeared as he lunged at Kenshin. She felt a knot forming in her throat. She had attacked this man. She had slept within arms reach of this man. This man was currently fighting with Himura so fast that she couldn't follow the blade strokes of either of them. If he had wanted, he could have done anything to her and no one would have been able to stop him, yet, he hadn't. He had been a near perfect gentleman, _allowing_ her to think he was her prisoner. She hadn't tried to take his sword, thankfully.

Why then did watching him now make her heart pound? It couldn't be fear, well maybe not much fear anyway. He'd had opportunity, and she WAS a pretty young damsel after all. Any other man would have been all over her but for her kunai. Somehow, though Misao didn't see Tenken no Soujiro being intimidated by nor stopped by her kunai. It was strange to admit it, but as dangerous as Soujiro was he seemed almost… gentle. A gentleness that apparently only applied to her as she watched him spin counterattacking Kenshin with a speed and ferocity that left most swordsmen looking like tame kittens. Somehow seeing this side of him coupled with the gentleness he showed her made her feel… secure.

Misao noticed everyone else in the room was staring at the two sparring partners in open astonishment. Even Sano, who had seen them fight each other before, had a look of surprise on his face. Yahiko was so amazed he had forgotten to write anything down, as if he could have followed all the movements anyway. Kaoru was watching Kenshin of course with a strange look on her face. She then turned to Misao and when their eyes met, she suddenly blushed. Misao wondered if she were blushing as well.

The two newcomers to the dojo were a bit more shocked at the display. This Kagome woman had a stunned look of bewilderment on her face that told Misao she had never even seen such a display of swordsmanship. The other one, her sister Sango, had been gritting her teeth and was watching with a look of utter disbelief as her right eye twitched. Both had their hands pulled tightly too them as if afraid the blades might stray in their direction.

Finally the two combatants stopped. Both were breathing hard, especially the nearly thirty-year-old Kenshin, while Soujiro simply looked temporarily winded. Misao smiled with a certain amount of pride. She was DEFINITELY going to have a talk with Okina about recruitment when she finally got Soujiro back to Kyoto. Between him and her beloved Aoshi, the Oniwaban group would be nigh invincible.

"Not bad pops." Soujiro said around a toothy grin. It was apparently contagious because Kenshin started grinning too.

"You're not bad yourself, Sou-chan." Himura was saying.

"Would YOU come teach Inuyasha?" Kagome said in hush from the side.

Soujiro looked over at the two young women and gave his usual disarming smile. "I'm not sure I'm good enough to be a teacher of swordplay." Soujiro said scratching the back of his head.

"You're kidding right?" Sango said as if she couldn't believe her ears. "I've never met ANYBODY that was as skilled as the two of you, and that includes Sesshomaru."

Misao almost growled. "Oh no you don't I saw him first. I'm taking him back to Kyoto with me!" Misao suddenly blushed. That didn't exactly come out right. It didn't help matters that Sano and Yahiko were suddenly rolling on the floor in laughter. Misao noticed Soujiro was looking at her as well, nearly as red as she was.

"He's my prisoner you perverts!" Misao said stamping her foot in anger as she got up to hover menacingly above them.

"That's the first prisoner I've seen who was allowed to keep his sword with him!" Yahiko said between fits of laughter. Misao blushed again. She watched as Sano and Yahiko started another fit of laughter. Kaoru and Kenshin were smiling broadly too. A sudden inspiration hit Misao and she grabbed Yahiko by the collar. He squirmed for a moment as she picked him up and hurled him toward Soujiro.

"Good point! Why don't you go GET IT!" Misao cried in sadistic glee as Yahiko barreled into Soujiro. Soujiro caught him and helped him to stand. Yahiko looked at Soujiro and was immediately stunned as Soujiro sheathed his weapon and handed it to Yahiko hilt first.

Yahiko had a grin on his face from ear to ear as he strode back over to Misao with his usual arrogance and handed it to her. She looked at the weapon for a moment before tucking it into her belt. "All you had to do was ask…" Soujiro said innocently.

Soujiro watched as Misao left the room. He'd thought that she'd be happy. Now she could show off to Aoshi by having his sword with her when Aoshi got there. She had stormed out however giving him a scathing look. Sano whistled to himself and shook his head.

"What did I do?" Soujiro said honest confusion coming over his features.

"I think she was hoping for Yahiko to get a lesson in manners." Sano said off-handedly. "I guess you're in the dog house now."

"What do you mean, I'm already her prisoner?"

Sano rolled his eyes back, "Clueless."

Alanor walked into his tower from the main hall. The other wizards of the order weren't too happy about his decision, but then they didn't have any better ideas. At least not any that kept them from getting involved.

Alanor snorted for the fifth time that day at the laziness of the collective order. Every group had its workhorse, and Alanor appeared to be the one for the order. It never seemed like any of the other wizards ever managed to accomplish anything except getting in the way or making a general mess of things. Alanor stopped in front of his magic mirror and concentrated on his new 'apprentice'. His mirror misted over and for a moment he had thought that something was wrong before he remembered she wasn't from this time. Finally tuning his mirror to search through time as well as space, for her most recent consciousness he found her.

Alanor swore as he looked at the time period displayed on the mirror's base. She was WHEN? Alanor looked at her in disbelief. She was in the middle of a crowd of people and she was TALKING to them! Alanor suddenly realized how much she had already disrupted history and the destinies of so many already.

Grabbing the books he had come to collect he began throwing everything haphazardly into one of his magic bags. This was going to get ugly. He should have brought her with him here, but then that would have introduced her to the wizards and after the shock Alanor had given them he really didn't want to think about how much worse it would have been had she been there.

This was serious; he knew where her portal was now so that would make things easier. He quickly removed his robes throwing them into his bag as well. He then reached under his bed and pulled out his suitcase. He threw the magic sacks inside of it and slammed it shut. The customs guys would look at him like he'd flipped, but he didn't care time was of the essence.

"SYMIRRIAN!" Alanor cried at the top of his lungs. The small drake popped into existence beside him and looked at him strangely.

"Alanor, why are you dancing around your room naked? Is this some sort of new ritual you're trying?" The drake actually managed to look innocent, in an evil reptilian sort of way.

Alanor flung his sandal at the reptile as it tried to escape. He was hopping around trying to put on socks and shirt at the same time. "Shut up and get me a ticket from London International to Tokyo. Business class. I need to be in Tokyo by tomorrow."

The reptile sighed and looked at him with pleading eyes. "You know they're generally booked up at this time of year. This isn't going to be easy."

"Go get Merlin's platinum card then. I need to catch up to Kagome and fast before the demon king gets his claws on her."

The little dragon gulped and was gone in a flash. A few minutes later it returned carrying some papers. "I got you an e-ticket, but Merlin said he gets to keep the frequent flyer miles this time. He's planning on 2003 Bermuda for vacation this year.

Alanor sighed, _just like him_ he thought. "Fine, fine. I'm going to be on an extended leave for this mission so keep everyone off my back while I'm gone and under NO circumstances tell them where or when. I need to get this girl trained before the council changes its mind and lets the demon realms waltz all over us."

He finally stepped back and looked at himself critically. The suit he had on would suit a westerner in the Meiji Era without attracting too much notice, and would look only a little old fashioned in Kagome's time. He was ready to go. "I'm going in through Stonehenge now to catch my flight. I'll travel back from there."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 9.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and smiled. It had been a few days, but she had finally gotten the well back open. They owed it all to Sanosuke. He had sneaked past the guards posted at the temple and had blasted the tree to smithereens. The guards hadn't heard a thing thanks to the drugged sake they'd been given courtesy of Megumi-san. She had been about to go get Miroku and Inuyasha when they came looking for her. Inuyasha had just walked into the dojo one morning demanding to see Kagome. It had been a tense few moments when all the swords had been drawn, but now everything was back on track and her plans were progressing.

With all the best swordsmen coming to the dojo that evening SURELY one of them would agree to teach Inuyasha. Maybe all the sake that was being brought in would help.

The money they had retrieved from the well had been more than enough to secure the release of Anji, so Sano had recommended spending the rest on a party to celebrate and to settle old differences. Some people were coming from Kyoto, which pleased Misao-san and Soujiro-san, and this Cho person had said that he'd be there this evening with the guest of honor, Anji.

Kagome and her friends watched the members of the dojo getting ready for the party. Shippou was running through the yard being chased by Ayame and Suzume. Sano, Kenshin, Soujiro, Yahiko, Miroku, and Inuyasha were all hanging lanterns from the yard to the walls and bringing in boxes from the delivery cart outside. Kaoru, Megumi, Misao, Sango, and Kagome were all busy either getting dressed up, decorating the inside of the dojo, or helping these ladies Tae and Tsubame with cooking the food for the night. Tae had said something about the fun of catering, though she was apparently invited to the party as well.

Kagome looked out the door of the dojo to where the front gate had swung open. In stepped a young woman, and two other men who were eyeing each other as if ready to fight. Kagome slid close to listen while Kenshin came running up to them.

"Aoshi, I'm glad you could make it. Master, what are YOU doing here?" Kenshin sounded more than a little perplexed.

"Baka deshi, your woman invited me." The larger of the two men replied. He was wearing a white cloak with a red collar and looked like a giant.

The young woman stepped forward and took Kenshin's hand. "You must be Kenshin Himura, what a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Kamatari."

Kenshin looked like he had just seen a ghost and even Kagome could tell his shocked smile was forced. "Uh, hello." He said dumbly.

Kamatari smiled and took Aoshi's arm. "Aoshi why don't you show me to where the ladies are getting ready so Kenshin can reminisce with Hiko-sama." Aoshi's expression didn't change but merely started walking towards the dojo with Kamatari in tow as Hiko looked like he was getting ready to berate Kenshin.

_These are some WEIRD people._ Kagome thought to herself. _As if I'm in a position to throw stones. I've got a crush on a cute half-demon, and I run around time and space with a lecherous monk and a female demon hunter._

Misao was jumping off the porch running for Aoshi before they made it half way to the dojo. She jumped up hugging Aoshi around the neck and then jumping up and down with glee. Kagome couldn't blame her; he was an absolute HUNK. Kagome turned to see Sango staring appreciatively at the new arrivals. She liked Miroku, but really these guys caught the eye too.

Aoshi waited until Misao calmed down before speaking. "Misao, your message said something about having captured Soujiro."

"Yes, Aoshi-sama. I captured him outside of Tokyo and brought him here so that I could question him and find out about the location of the treasure. When we found out where it was we sent word to you. We've been able to procure the release of monk Anji and will be celebrating with him tonight. Here is Soujiro's sword." Misao pulled the sword and sheath from her belt and gave it to Aoshi.

"What you did was very stupid Misao. I wanted you to contact Soujiro, not capture him. He is very dangerous and you could have been killed." Misao's expression darkened at Aoshi's words, and she definitely looked crestfallen. _That jerk,_ Kagome thought to herself. She knew ho much Misao had been looking forward to trying to impress her Aoshi.

"Don't be so hard on the kid Aoshi," Kamatari giggled. "She did pretty well the last time I fought her, and I'm sure Soujiro likes her too much to kill her." Misao's face twisted into a look of panic-stricken horror as she looked back and forth between Kamatari and Aoshi. "What makes you say that?" She said numbly.

"Well, you're alive for starters." Kamatari said simply. "That and Soujiro's sword doesn't have any blood on it. I doubt he would have given it to you unless he really trusted you. You should be flattered, trust doesn't come easy to men like him."

Aoshi handed the sword back to Misao. "You should give this back to its rightful owner." Aoshi said in his usual emotionless voice. He and Kamatari then swept past Misao towards the dojo, Kamatari still clinging to Aoshi's arm. Misao stood there for a moment looking at their retreating backs with her mouth hanging wide open. She then stomped off.

The last Kagome saw them she had Soujiro by the front of the gi stomping off towards the back of the dojo practically dragging the boy behind her as she went. Her expression was murderous.

"Man, it's like watching a soap opera." Kagome said turning back into the dojo. Kaoru was welcoming Kamatari. After a few minutes, Misao returned without Soujiro's sword and a look of utter despair all over her face.

With most of the party preparations made, the women all sat down to tea while the men started cleaning up and getting ready themselves. The women all sat down and began to gossip over tea. Kagome looked over and saw that Kamatari hadn't joined the rest of them. The woman sat alone by the door looking out at the sky as afternoon settled into evening.

Kaoru went over to speak to her, and after a few minutes got her to come over and join the rest of them. "Kaoru-san, who's the funny looking guy in red out there?" Kamatari said confused.

Kagome sighed. She was getting tired of explaining everything. Kaoru looked at Kagome and she started reciting the story of the gang from the past who were here looking for a sword tutor. _Why not? I'd rather be truthful than get caught up in all sorts of lies later. I just wished everybody didn't look at me like I was crazy._

When she finished, the ladies all looked at her as if she was crazy, except for Kaoru. "Honey, you're weirder than I am." Kamatari said flatly. Kagome looked at Kamatari with a puzzled look until Kaoru spoke.

"She's telling the truth you guys." Everybody then looked at Kaoru. "I was there when she destroyed one of those demons. It was the one that stuffed that tree down the well up at the temple in the first place."

"I had wondered how a tree got wedged in there like that." Misao said slowly looking at Kagome as if for the first time. "This all seems a little bit much though, Kaoru are you pulling my leg?"

"Why would she be pulling your leg?" Shippou said as he scampered into the room followed by Ayame and Suzume.

None of the ladies had been formally introduced to Shippou or the others since their arrival that morning, so none of them were prepared for Shippou. Megumi was the first one to speak. "Is that a tail on that kid?"

Kagome nodded and patted Megumi on the back. "It's OK, he's a good demon."

Shippou came running over and leaped into Kagome's lap. He then scrambled up onto her shoulder. "Kagome, Inuyasha said that Sano told him there was a fox lady somewhere in here! Please, introduce me to her!"

Megumi had a startled expression on her face, but then gathered her composure. "Sano's talking about me is he?"

Shippou crawled over and looked at Megumi. "Hey, you don't look like a fox!"

"It's a nickname." Misao offered blankly. She was starting to notice the non-human features on Shippou as well and realizing they weren't funny clothes for children to wear.

Shippou obviously looked disappointed. Kagome reached over and picked him up as he sniffled a little. Ayame and Suzume immediately started lifting his spirits. "Show them Sano, Shippou." They cried in unison. "Yeah, make Sano."

Kagome let down Shippou, who sighed, but was smiling and obviously enjoying himself. There was a loud pop and suddenly Sano was standing amongst them, except he had a foxtail. The women gasped, but the girls just bounced around squealing.

With hard evidence in front of them the other women had no choice but to accept Kagome's story at face value. The sat in silence for a few moments, as Shippou entertained the girls with his top. He was having a blast.

Misao finally sat down her tea, and looked at the rest of them. "I guess it's a night for revelations then. Kamatari-san, I have a question for you."

Kamatari seemed a little surprised but looked at Misao expectantly, "Yes?"

"Is Aoshi gay?"

The entire room went dead silent except for the children. The women looked at each other to see the different expressions on each other's faces. The only people who didn't have eyes the size of basketballs were Megumi and Misao.

"Wh-Why do you ask?" Kamatari said uneasily.

"Because you're muscling in on MY man." Misao said darkly.

Kagome didn't have anything in this conversation, but her confusion was apparent. She looked at Kamatari and suddenly things came in on her in a rush. "You mean that she's a…"

"I prefer to be thought of as a woman." Kamatari said haughtily. "And to answer your question, I have no idea. You didn't seem to be getting anywhere so I thought 'Why not'. He didn't even flinch when I made a pass at him. Since then though I've noticed he doesn't flinch, period."

"I've always suspected as much," Megumi added. Everyone looked at her suddenly. Misao looked ready to cry.

"When he was working for the man that had enslaved me, he wouldn't associate with women. Sorry Misao, but I tried to seduce him once to get him to help me escape. Needless to say, it didn't work. He never went carousing with his other men, and he always kept to himself. I figured if I couldn't seduce him then he was either an exceptionally devoted husband or else he was gay." Megumi went back to sipping her tea.

Misao looked at the other ladies with embarrassment. "What did you try to do?" She said curiously.

"None of your business." Megumi said. "I wouldn't suggest it for your problems with him. I also wouldn't want to repeat such things in front of Tsubame. Needless to say, he's the only man I've ever known to resist it."

"Resist IT?" Kaoru said uneasily.

"I drugged him OK." Megumi said hotly. "It helps with all the other things that I'm NOT going to mention."

The odd silence returned as the women mulled over Misao's love problems. This was becoming an issue for all of them to work on.

"Why do you want a man that's a chunk of ice anyway?" Kamatari said to Misao. "I have to admit, not getting anywhere with a man can be pretty painful. Trust me, I know from experience. I've been pretty much getting ready to give up on Aoshi as just someone to flirt with until I find a more willing man."

"He's the only man I've ever loved. I've known him nearly all my life. There's times when I think he sees me as nothing more than a child, but then he'll do something that makes me think he's sees me as an adult. The only other possibility is that he sees me as a little sister, but I think that would be even worse than being thought of as a child. I might outgrow that. I guess 'ice' best describes him all around though."

"Be thankful." Kagome said gloomily.

"What do you mean, Kagome?" Misao said confused.

"Inuyasha is like fire. He used to love another woman, and I look just like her. He thought she betrayed him though and then he started hating her. When he looks at me, I don't know if he sees her or me. Then she showed back up in his life and was trying to kill him. It was all a great big mess. He has so many issues with his own past that I can't seem to break through. He can be a real jerk sometimes and just when I think I'm ready to give up on him he does something sweet and I catch myself falling in love with him all over again." Kagome's own words surprised her. She'd never mentioned love and Inuyasha in the same sentence, but this was one of the few chances she'd ever have to seek advice from women who might understand her situation.

"I feel your pain." Kaoru said next to her. "Kenshin is like the wind. He slips through my fingers when I try to hold on to him. I can no more control him than I can the air around us. He can be as gentle as the breeze or as strong and destructive as the hurricane. His past is also an issue, but he won't share it with me. I want nothing more than to hold him and let him know how much he means to me, but I keep chickening out and letting the moment pass. I'm so worried that if I pursue him fully he'll slip from my fingers and blow away."

Sango sighed. "I guess it's my turn. I do feel something for Miroku, but I don't know how to describe it. It may be love, but I'm not sure. He can be a slimy, sneaky little pervert, but he can also be one of the noblest men I've ever met. I have no doubt he would gladly sacrifice his life to save mine. He has risked it several times over for each of us. I simply don't know how much of his surface that he shows to the outside world is real and what he's really like on the inside. I appreciate the fact that he'd die for me, but faithful? I have some serious doubts. He's like water, murky at times and at times clear, but you never really know what's beneath the surface."

"Faithful and men shouldn't be used in the same sentence." Megumi said cynically. "I've never had a very high opinion of the species. Take Sano for instance. That rooster head is brash and impetuous. He's arrogant, unreliable, and a blockhead. I'd have to describe him as wood. He'd proclaim his undying love without thinking only to find out later what he was feeling was nothing but lust in the first place. He is so immature that it'll be years before he's ready for any sort of REAL relationship."

"You sound frustrated about it Megumi-dono." Kamatari said sagely.

Megumi dropped the walls for a moment to look at the rest of the women around her. "Maybe a little. I'd like nothing more than to find a man that was mature enough to be interested in something more than just getting a woman to sleep with him. I've thought I've found one before, but I've been hurt so many times when I turned out to be wrong."

"At least the rest of you HAVE someone to worry over," Tae said. "All I've ever had time for was my business and now I'm starting to get too old to be acting like a young girl. I think that's why I try to get so involved in everybody else's love lives. My own is so non-existent."

The other women around the circle nodded compassionately. Kaoru smiled as Kagome noticed she was looking at someone else in their little circle. "What about you Tsubame. I know Yahiko must drive you as crazy as the rest of the men drive us. He's a pain to me sometimes that's for sure."

The young girl Tsubame blushed deeply and tried to hide her face. "Kawaii" was all she said.

"Yeah Tsubame, what makes you mad at Yahiko." Megumi persisted.

"Nothing." Tsubame said shyly.

"You're kidding." Misao said in disbelief.

"Impossible." Kaoru muttered.

"Yeah, right." Megumi snorted.

"Nothing?" Sango asked incredulously.

"Surely there's something." Kamatari said with interest.

"No," Tsubame said shyly, "he always tries to protect me and help me with my work. He comes to visit me all the time and he brings me flowers." Tsubame closed her eyes as if imagining. "He acts so tough in front of everybody else because he doesn't want to look like a weak little boy, but he's strong and brave and I know he loves me as much as I love him. When he holds me, I feel warm, safe, and loved. My heart races whenever he kisses me too." Tsubame suddenly jerked awake as if suddenly remembering where she was and whom she was with. She went deep red blushing and tried to hide her face again. "Kawaii."

There was a long silence before Tae said it. "There's one in every group I guess."

"Yeah" the rest of the women said miserably in unison.

"I think it's sweet Tsubame. You give the rest of us something to hope for." Kagome said honestly.

The women sipped their tea quietly waiting for the party to start when Kagome heard something from the front yard. "Is there anybody here?" a man's voice was saying.

Kaoru got up and went to the door. Everyone else followed after to see four people standing at the gate of the dojo. Anji, Cho, Saitoh, and some woman were all standing at the front gate. "Come in," Kaoru said anxiously looking to make sure that Shippou was out of sight. "We're glad you're here. Now the party can get started."

Cho walked up to Kaoru. I hope you don't mind and all, I invited the boss and his wife."

"That's OK," Kaoru said sweetly. "I've been wanting to meet Tokio-san for quite some time now." Kaoru walked up to Tokio and escorted her into the dojo leaving the men standing around. "The men are around back getting ready," Kagome said helpfully.

The party wasn't long in starting. Sano had already broken into the sake and had been toasting Anji even before he got there. Everyone came into the main hall of the dojo to eat. Kagome noticed that some of the men eyed each other warily, but for the most part everything was going well.

After the meal was finished and the dishes had been cleared away they all sat around chatting comfortably as the men began to unwind with the sake. Kagome quite liked it here. It wasn't the history she envisioned for this era.

Kagome was thinking of Inuyasha when an idea struck her. The men were loosened up a bit, and in some cases more than a bit she thought looking at Cho passed out already from trying to out drink Sano. She got up and went to her bag and scratched around until she found something that she thought might work wonders. She came back into the room and sat down unzipping a case and setting her battery operated CD player on the floor. It was meant for earphones, but she had a speaker attachment.

The other women looked at her curiously. They had been kind enough to explain things to Tokio. The sake had made explanation unnecessary to most of the men. Those that hadn't already been told were either passed out or oblivious. Kagome gave them a wink and started flipping through her CDs. She had some that would probably scare the pants off most of them; hard rock was definitely out. She flipped until she found some slow easy listening music, just the kind for slow dancing close together.

"I have some appropriate magic for the evening," Kagome said.

"Oh?" Kamatari said, "Like what?"

"How about a little music and dancing?" Kagome said impishly.

Kamatari looked at Kagome's things. "Is that some sort of music box? I saw one in one of the western shops in Yokohama once. You couldn't really dance to it."

Kagome grinned widely. "This one is a little bit more advanced."

Kagome put in one of her favorite instrumentals. She'd always dreamed of a going to a high school dance. She probably never would get the chance now, but she could have the next best thing.

The men all looked around for the band as the music filled the dojo hall. After unsuccessfully finding it they merely shrugged and went back to their talking. To his merit, and since he wasn't already half drunk, Yahiko was the first to get the hint. He shyly walked over to Tsubame and held out his hand. As the two of them made their way into the hall and started dancing slowly, the other men started to take notice.

Kagome noticed that the other men were looking decidedly uncomfortable as they watched Yahiko dancing with Tsubame and they all started looking towards the women, only to find an assortment of pleading, hopeful, and in some cases threatening stares. Inuyasha was naturally oblivious to the whole affair.

Saitoh got up and led his wife to the floor soon after. Everyone stared. He was an excellent dancer, and so was she. You just didn't expect men like Saitoh to be good at much of anything outside of combat. The women went back to looking at the men expectantly.

Kagome wasn't surprised to see Miroku get up next. He started walking towards the women and was starting to steer away from Sango's penetrating gaze until Kagome pinched Sango hard enough to make her jump to her feet. Miroku smiled and held out his hand. Sango shot Kagome a nasty look that softened when she saw the hand held out to her. She took it almost shyly and went to dance.

Next to her a discussion was heating up. "If you don't, I will." Kamatari said to a blushing Misao. "But…" Misao tried to protest.

Misao didn't get a chance to retort as Soujiro walked up to the two of them. "Uh, Misao-dono?"

Misao looked up with a startled expression at Soujiro. "Yes?"

Soujiro looked at her sheepishly. "I wanted to apologize for embarrassing you in front of Yahiko, would you like to dance?"

"Smooth kid." Kamatari said with a chuckle.

Misao was speechless and kept looking back, but was led to the floor by Soujiro.

"I guess that leaves, sweet cheeks for me then." Kamatari said getting up and heading for the men. 'She' made a great show of it. Men came running to get dance partners as she neared them.

Sano had Megumi and was headed for the floor, "Don't argue, just PLEASE come on."

"Uh, Kaoru-dono, this unworthy one would like…"

"Yes, Kenshin." Kaoru said jumping up and heading for the floor with him in tow.

Kagome sighed and looked over at Tae who looked back sympathetically. Inuyasha was asleep.

Kamatari had dragged Aoshi up and was dragging him towards the drill hall turned dance floor. His faced betrayed no uneasiness or emotion, as usual.

Kagome looked down and sighed. Even the gay guy was getting more attention than she was. Why did Inuyasha always have to be so…

"Man, I'm glad that guy's gone." Inuyasha said sitting down next to her.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and tried to fight the anger. Inuyasha looked at her with an odd look. "Kagome, what's wrong. You look like you're about to cry."

Kagome choked on the words. This was always the hard part. She could never get it out. Tae laid a hand on her arm and looked at Inuyasha. "She's just been sitting here wishing that some handsome young man would come up and ask her to dance. No young girl wants to be left alone when there's music and a dance to be had." Kagome suddenly blushed and looked at Inuyasha. How would he react?

Inuyasha got up and then held down his hand to Kagome. Kagome found herself looking up at him as he lifted her to her feet. Not a word was said, but he escorted her to the room and to the dance.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 10.

Tae watched the two of them move to the music and sighed. Life was too short to be spent in indecision. She sat and watched the others. It was perfect… for them.

"Sake?"

Tae turned to the large man who had sat down next to her. He was much larger than she was, his hand dwarfing hers as he handed her a bit of sake.

"Uh, thank you, Master Hiko."

"Please. You were right. No one should be left alone when there's music and sake to be had."

Tae smiled as she took the sake from Hiko. "Again, thank you."

"The hall is crowded now, so why don't we just sit out here and enjoy the sake, and watch the children play."

Tae smiled and looked at the dance floor. She felt like the chaperone, or everyone else's mother. She shivered a little as the wind blew in. With all the people in the other room, the heat had left with them. Tae looked up again as she felt something slide around her shoulders.

Hiko's massive cape surrounded both of them, and Tae moved closer to keep warm. True the sake was starting to make her feel warm too, but somehow getting close to the muscular form next to her seemed to be the more pleasant alternative. She didn't object when Hiko's massive arm moved around her and pulled her close. He didn't strike her as the very romantic type, but it was nice to have someone not to be alone with.

The rest of the party had been wonderful. They had danced for hours. It was late evening now and the light from the lanterns danced across the yard. Inside everyone was relaxed and was still sipping on the sake. Even the ladies had little red noses. Kaoru was thankfully asleep against Kenshin's shoulder, not being able to hold her sake. Kenshin had stopped Yahiko from getting any, but he and Tsubame were nevertheless already asleep huddled next to each other in an adorable embrace. Kagome looked at Shippou asleep in her own lap. The two little playmates he had found were curled up in Sano and Megumi's laps.

A cold wind blew through the dojo as everyone still awake and/or sober talked to one another. It took a few moments before Kagome noticed the figure in a western suit standing in the doorway.

"What have you DONE, child?" Alanor said as he stepped in looking around at everyone. Kagome was surprised to see how fast the men went from half drunken and snoring to full awake with drawn swords.

"Alanor-sama! What are you doing here?" Kagome sat up from where she had been resting against Inuyasha. She'd been thinking about going to sleep on him.

"I came as soon as I realized where you were!" Alanor said with disdain. "You should never have come here child."

"I was just trying to…" Kagome started.

"ENOUGH!" Alanor said incensed. "You've already done enough damage to history." Alanor looked at the rest of the people in the room. "The rest of you can put your weapons away. I'm not an enemy… yet." He said dryly.

Kenshin moved Kaoru into a sitting position as she groggily wiped her eyes and tried to focus on the new visitor. "I'm sorry sir, this is a private party. Kagome-dono is our guest. Please state your business here."

"I am the 'sensei' of 'Kagome-dono', and right now she is in desperate trouble for coming here. There is no end to the mischief she might have caused. My suggestion to the lot of you is to go back to your party and to forget that she was ever here." Alanor looked at the people surrounding him. None of them looked very inclined to comply as far as Kagome could tell.

Kagome thanked the stars that Hiko was there. "Well, I'm sure there hasn't been any major harm done. We were just celebrating and invited the girl in for a night of partying is all. Trust me, if ANYONE could have messed things up it would have been my own baka deshi. Why don't you sit down and take a load off. We definitely have plenty of sake."

Alanor looked at the rest of the men and moved over to stand beside Kagome. "Because if we don't leave soon we're going to have another _visitor_…" Alanor said ominously to Kagome.

"Oi, what, another demon?" Sanosuke said as he hiccupped slightly.

Alanor looked at Sanosuke until he started to squirm under his gaze. "Another demon?" This time his gaze moved to Kagome.

"Yeah, one attacked us the same day we got here."

Alanor's face grew pale as he silently repeated the words. "How long have you been here child?"

"Only a few days Alanor-sama. You said I should limit trips to short visits."

"I meant HOURS you little twit, not DAYS!" Alanor said obviously loosing his cool. "Do you have any idea how much danger you've put these people in?"

Inuyasha growled as Alanor sat down heavily. He reached into his coat and pulled out a large tome and set it in front of him. Kagome looked at the massive thing and wondered briefly how that thing had fit in his coat without bulging out. He next pulled out a small orb and let it hang in the air in from of him. He now had the undivided attention of nearly everyone in the room.

Opening the book, he began flipping the pages until he came to a large picture of someone Kagome recognized. It was a picture of Kenshin. "What is that?" Kagome said amazed as the picture actually moved showing Kenshin from all angles.

"This is the 'Book of People', a must for traveling through time if you don't want to disrupt history. So pay attention." Alanor said annoyed as he scanned the page.

"But the words are moving!" Kagome said surprised.

"Yes, they display all the information in the book much like a web page in your own time. Think of it as a magician's pocket PC."

Kagome didn't understand the words, but she watched as Alanor flipped through the pages looking up each of the people there. Finally, he looked over at Kagome. "This could have been a whole lot worse, if you had been here a few months ago this would not have ended as well."

Alanor suddenly sat up straight and looked into the small sphere as it began to glow red. Inuyasha tensed, and Kagome watched as slowly the other men in the room began to sit up and look around. The winds had begun to die down. Alanor said something in what she assumed was his native tongue and began to stand up.

Kagome noticed a lot of other people had begun to stand up. "Kagome, get these people out of here." There was a quiet command in Alanor's voice. Unlike his earlier bluster, this tone indicated that arguing was irrelevant. "All of you, I promise to you that all of this will be explained later. Right now you must listen to me and believe me that your lives are in grave danger. I know that many of you are masters in your own right of combat, but your skills will not avail you here. You must flee this place and go with Kagome. She will take you someplace safe."

"Safety is a relevant thing for people such as ourselves, sir." Kenshin said gravely. "I do not abandon my home lightly." Kagome saw happy tears welling up in Kaoru's eyes. Others were muttering agreement.

"If you stay here you will die. What were you able to do against the other demon?" Alanor said bluntly.

"Our weapons had no effect, but Kagome was able to destroy it." Kenshin told him.

"That may be, but this is different. An army is coming." Alanor looked out the door of the dojo and began to get nervous. "There will be too many and they will be more powerful. This is too soon."

Alanor looked at them and then motioned to the sleeping pair of Tsubame and Yahiko. "All of you must make a break for the well. I don't have time to explain now, but these two MUST survive. Do NOT let anything happen to them."

Alanor turned and headed for the doorway. Everyone else quickly gathered their things and walked out behind him to the dojo gate. As they stepped out into the street, the light of the moon danced off of the dark mist that was slowly advancing up the street. Alanor turned to them all as some of the men looked as if they were getting ready for combat. "Don't just stand there… run you fools!"

The first wave came crashing towards them like a torrent of darkness. Dark shapes mixed with the glint of steel in the moonlight as a host of nightmarish warriors charged into battle. Alanor raised his hands and arcs of light flew from them catching the first few warriors in the chest. More were charging behind them though.

That seemed to convince the men as suddenly, Kenshin grabbed Kagome. "Lead the way," he said, as he picked up a still wobbly Kaoru whose kimono didn't allow much freedom of movement.

Kagome ran for the temple with Shippou in her arms. Behind her she could see the rest of the people following. Kenshin, of course, was carrying Kaoru. Saitoh was carrying his wife. Sano had picked up Megumi and Anji was right behind them carrying a little girl in each arm. Hiko had grabbed up Tae and had her over one shoulder, his long strides outpacing nearly everyone. Misao had grabbed Tsubame, and Yahiko was yelling bloody murder as Soujiro carried him. Kamatari seemed a little miffed that Aoshi wasn't carrying 'her', but 'her' dress did allow 'her' to run just fine as Aoshi hauled 'her' along behind him. Cho was bringing up the rear looking back.

Kagome tried to find her friends and realized they were fighting. They were the only ones with weapons that could stop the demons, so they had stayed behind to fight and give the rest of them time to escape.

Kagome ran for the temple as fast as her legs would carry her. Once she got there she looked around and found the well guarded by more of the dark warriors. Kagome stopped and the rest of the men started setting down their passengers. Saitoh suddenly seemed in control. "Himura, Shinomori, Segara, and Seta; you four come with me. The rest of you, get out of here."

There seemed to be a general nod of agreement among the men before Kagome could say anything. Why did men always have to come to these conclusions on their own?

These five men rushed the pack of dark warriors around the well. Kagome had to admit it was impressive. The five of them were some of the most impressive fighters she had ever seen. Soon a hole opened up as the five pressed the dark warriors back from the well.

Kagome charged forward to the well and jumped in. There was no time for climbing right now. Anji dropped to the ground beside her with the two girls and let them down.

"What there isn't a tunnel here!" Anji said in disbelief.

"I'll explain later!" Kagome grabbed the two little girls and disappeared. She reappeared in the feudal era and looked around. Shippou jumped from her arms and raced to the top of the well.

"It's all clear Kagome!"

"Good try to keep the girls calm! I'm going back for the others!"

Kagome shifted through time again. This was getting easier. She reappeared in front of a startled Anji who nearly dropped Yahiko. Tsubame was trembling next to the big man and latched onto Yahiko as soon as his feet hit the ground.

"What's going on?" Yahiko yelled, "No. Waaaaiii…" he started.

"…iiiittttt" and finished as he and Tsubame reappeared in the feudal era.

"Yahiko get the girls out of the well. We've got to get everybody through."

Without waiting for a reply, Kagome shifted again. Kaoru and Tae followed Megumi and Tokio as Kagome brought people back to the past. Kagome returned to find Kamatari wrestling a frantic Misao, "I have to help them."

Kagome grabbed them both. The two of them looked startled for a moment as they reappeared. "You've got to help protect the others!" Kagome said desperately. "I'll go back for them."

Misao finally stopped struggling as Kagome disappeared again. This time Anji was there, holding a severely injured Sano and Cho. They looked like they'd been nearly cut to ribbons. Kagome took hold of the two and reappeared in the past.

"Shippou! Go to the village and get Kaede! We've got injured!" Kagome laid Sano and Cho down and flashed back to the future.

She reappeared amidst her pack and a suitcase? "What's this?" Kagome said looking up to Anji.

"Your friends have arrived. They brought these things and said Alanor told them to make sure they brought them to you." Kagome shook her head and set them aside for a moment. "Whose next?"

Her question was quickly answered as Miroku dropped beside her with an injured Sango. She didn't even ask as she grabbed the two of them and shifted them back. Shifting forward brought more injured. Anji was gone, Aoshi was hurt badly, and Saitoh had definitely seen better days. "I'll be back," Saitoh started to say as Kagome shifted him and Aoshi back.

"There's no time for bravado right now pal, get topside, there's a healer on the way." Kagome said with a tone she hoped was commanding.

She shifted back and found Anji severely battered. "What are those things?" he said with wide eyes.

"Demon ninjas I think." Kagome replied. She shifted once again and laid Anji down. She shifted back to an empty well. Fearing the worst she climbed to the top to see the battle still in full swing. Inuyasha was cutting the demons to ribbons, but there were too many for just one half demon to handle. Hiko limped towards the well, carrying Kenshin. Kagome dropped to the bottom. Hiko landed beside her.

"Baka deshi, you shouldn't go jumping in the way of swords meant for you master. My superb skills would have protected me." Kagome didn't think Hiko's voice sounded very confident though. He also looked worried over his former pupil.

Kagome shifted them and the bags back to the past. Hiko carried Kenshin out of the well. Before she could return Inuyasha appeared next to her carrying Soujiro. "What happened to you?" Kagome said. Soujiro looked uninjured except for being covered in dirt and having a few scrapes. He was still smiling too.

"He broke his leg." Inuyasha said with disgust. "He's faster than me! None of the ninjas could touch him, but then that one with the chain…"

"He tripped me!" Soujiro said scandalized. "Nobody's EVER been able to trip me before."

"Where's Alanor?" Kagome said suddenly.

"The old man told us to run and he'd catch up later. He said not to worry about him, because he might be gone a while." Inuyasha said nonchalantly.

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and leaped to the surface. Kaede was already there with Shippou tending the injured. Kagome did a quick headcount to make sure everybody was there.

Yahiko. Check.

Tsubame. Check.

Kenshin. Check.

Kaoru. Check.

Megumi. Check.

Sanosuke. Check.

Suzume. Check.

Ayame. Check.

Saitoh. Check.

Tokio. Check.

Aoshi. Check.

Kamatari. Check.

Misao. Check.

Soujiro. Check.

Cho. Check.

Anji. Check.

Miroku. Check.

Sango. Check.

Sesshomaru. Check.

Kagome suddenly stopped as her mind caught up with her. Sesshomaru? Undoubtedly, there he stood watching the group as they clustered around the well.

"Damn. What does he want now?" Inuyasha swore as he pulled out Tetsaiga.

"I see you've started collecting humans brother." Sesshomaru said pulling out his own blade. "I thought I was going to have to go into the well after you."

"Sesshomaru, we don't have time for this!" Kagome yelled at him. Everybody was looking at her. A moment later however the two brothers went back to ignoring her and began fighting, as usual. Kagome had been through enough. It was bad enough she could never go home, and she had dragged all these innocent people into her problems, but now having to deal with this was too much.

Kagome stalked over to Kaede. She had seen her do this once, and she'd been studying it with her. "Kaede, I need another one of those necklaces."

Kaede looked at Kagome with a stunned expression as she handed to beads to Kagome. Kagome had been studying these things thinking to release Inuyasha, but now she was glad she hadn't. Ignore HER, would they.

Kagome began to chant as the beads disappeared from her hands. The look on Sesshomaru was priceless. He nearly lost his head from the distraction. He knocked Inuyasha back and looked down at the necklace around his neck and then looked up at Kagome.

"You don't honestly think that this is going to…" he managed to get out.

"STAY, boy!" Kagome shouted.

The beads glowed brightly and Sesshomaru found himself face down in the dirt. She could practically feel the anger rising off his body.

"Great work Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. "Now to finish the job!" Inuyasha raised the Tetsaiga over his head to slay his brother.

"SIT, boy!" Kagome shouted.

Inuyasha slammed into the ground next to this brother. "What did you do that for you stupid wench!"

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha stood up. She had their undivided attention now. Sesshomaru was the first one to take a step forward.

"STAY, boy!" Sesshomaru hit the ground.

"SIT, boy!" Inuyasha hit the ground.

"SIT, STAY, SIT, STAY, SIT, STAY!" Kagome shouted. The two finally stayed down groaning. "I have had all I'm going to TAKE!" she screamed at the two of them.

"We have just been through a war, these people are injured, and all the two of you can think about doing is trying to kill each other! Well, I've HAD IT. Help us get these injured people back to the village so we can tend to their wounds, or else I'm going to pound you two into the ground until I loose my voice!" Kagome glared at the two brothers.

"But…" they both started in unison.

"NOW!" Kagome shrieked at them. Flames seemed to appear around Kagome and she looked ready to murder.

The two of them finally got up and started walking over to the injured. Inuyasha was grumbling, and Sesshomaru never stopped glaring at her, but they obeyed.

"Good work, Kagome." Kaede said next to her pleased. "I never would have believed your power could have bested a full demon like Sesshomaru."

Tokio and Megumi were looking at Kagome as well. "Do you have any more of those?" They whispered.

The trek back to the village had been a swift one. It was late at night, but they finally managed to get all the injured moved into a storage building large enough to hold all of them. The ladies and Sango had gone to the hut of Kaede. Kagome had then ordered the two demons she had control of to keep watch and guard the village, promising bloody murder if they didn't keep from fighting each other. Miroku had gone along to play chaperone.

Kenshin looked at his companions weakly. Even Hiko was injured. Yahiko was moving to each of the men tending wounds. The only 'man' not injured had been Kamatari, but 'she' had gone to the hut with the women.

"I guess Alanor wasn't kidding when he said we wouldn't be much good against those things, that he wasn't." Kenshin said finally.

"My superior fighting ability can stop anything." Hiko said defensively. "It's not my fault that our weapons couldn't hurt them."

"At least we got the women to safety." Soujiro said hopefully.

"I'm surprised we did that well, all things considered." Aoshi said glumly.

"Hey we did all right!" Cho piped up. "Even if most of my swords did get broken." He added slowly.

"I STILL can't believe they broke my leg." Soujiro offered.

"I am REALLY looking forward to the explanation that old man promised us." Saitoh said with a certain degree of menace in his voice.

"I too look forward to this man's story." Anji said.

"I'm sure that Kagome-dono will explain as much as she can until her sensei returns." Kenshin offered apologetically.

"Strange people you keep under your roof Battousi." Saitoh said disapprovingly.

"We're ones to talk." Aoshi said coldly, much as he said EVERYTHING coldly.

"Yeah, but DAMN what a party! I haven't had that much fun in years!" Sano said perking up.

Everyone, who was able, turned to look at him like he was crazy. Then they started looking at each other. No one wanted to admit it, but he was right.

"Such things shouldn't happen in the Meiji Era." Kenshin said stiffly.

"Quite right." Saitoh agreed.

"It was still fun though." Sano continued. "You can't tell me you guys have had a good scrap like that recently."

"Not since Shishio." Kenshin agreed.

"The police station has been pretty quiet." Saitoh reflected.

"I haven't stretched my skills like that in years." Hiko chuckled.

"I've missed battle." Aoshi said with more emotion than he normally showed, but still sounding subdued by mortal standards.

"I'm afraid we must all face the truth." Soujiro added. Everyone looked at him.

"We're all warriors trapped in a time of peace. We've all spent an extremely large portion of our lives working towards perfection in a profession that is becoming unnecessary. Even the nature of war is changing. Now it's who has the best strategy and the most guns and cannons. True, some of us have adapted to peace better than others, but we're all still the same men inside. Fighting is a part of us and I'm not ashamed to admit that I had the most wonderful time knowing that I was doing it to protect Misao." Soujiro suddenly realized what he said and looked at Aoshi. Aoshi was still able to move, and if he wanted to Soujiro would be dead.

Aoshi just looked at Soujiro and then looked back at Sano. "I had fun too."

Kenshin sighed. Once he had seen Kaoru get away safely he'd let go. The Battousi had found release and now he found it much easier to keep calm because the beast had been fed. His weapon had been useless against the demons so he had opened up to Battousi and let him run free. If he had been fighting men he would have been sick right now, but it had felt good. Feeling the power run through him without the fear or moral indecision about taking a life. It had allowed him to use the Battousi to actually protect for the first time in his life. It had calmed his soul in ways he never would have imagined. Kaoru made him feel forgiven; tonight made him feel clean.

The rest of the men were starting to relax thinking about the battle. "We could have beaten them with the right weapons." Cho said out loud.

"Sango said something about knowing how to get weapons that could harm them." Yahiko added in helpfully.

The rest of the men started mulling this over. "I do need a new sword." Hiko said looking at the ragged remains of his once pristine blade.

"I'm always collecting good swords." Cho said happily.

Kenshin didn't really like the thoughts he saw running across the faces of the men gathered there. Grins were starting to appear as similar ideas started forming in the heads of the gathered warriors. Kenshin could practically see the word 'rematch' forming above their collective heads.

The men quickly became lost in their own thoughts. Kenshin looked at Yahiko. None of them had allowed him to fight during the battle. He looked a little down about it too. If he had, he would have been killed. Apparently Yahiko understood this too, looking at the injuries the rest of them had endured. The old man had singled him out. Kenshin had to admit he didn't understand why, but he was still concerned for Yahiko. He was the closest thing to a son he had ever had.

Oddly, it was Aoshi who broke the silence. "Soujiro."

"Y-Yes, Aoshi-sama?" Soujiro said getting a worried look on his face.

"What are you intentions toward Misao?" Aoshi said with less emotion than normal.

"Nothing. I mean she's just my friend. You don't have to worry about me getting in the way Aoshi-sama. I know she's in love with you." Soujiro had his eyes cast down.

Aoshi looked over at him. "Protecting Misao is my only concern. I have watched over her since she was little. She's like a sister to me. If you wish to pursue her you may. She's become a handful, and I could use the help protecting her. The only thing YOU need to be worried about Soujiro is if you hurt her." Aoshi didn't say anything else. He didn't really have to. Kenshin had a pretty good idea about what would happen to anyone who tried to hurt Misao.

"So what are YOUR intentions towards Kamatari?" Cho snickered. The rest of the men suddenly became uncomfortable at the mention of the cross-dresser's name. More than one glanced at Aoshi and began to squirm a little.

"What do you mean?" Aoshi asked.

"Kamatari used to be a companion of ours and we've noticed she's taken a shine to you Shinomori. You don't seem to mind the attention either. I hate to say it, but we don't want Kamatari getting her feelings hurt and all that anymore than you want to see Misao get hurt. She's one of us." Cho said.

"Yes." Anji agreed. "She's always been rather…"

"Sensitive." Soujiro finished uneasily.

Most of the other men looked extremely uncomfortable discussing the subject. Aoshi merely shrugged. "The actions of other people are of little concern to me. If Kamatari wants to act like a woman and pursue men then that is his concern. I am not gay. Kamatari is a pleasant enough companion, and if he were a woman things might be different. However, things are not different."

Most of the men seemed to breath a sigh of relief and relax a bit. Hiko was the next to speak up. "I don't think it would be safe to try going back home just yet."

Thankful for a more comfortable topic the men agreed. "Tomorrow morning we need to discuss this fully and then we'll see to what must be done. I think Soujiro is going to be the only one who isn't going to be mobile."

The rest of the men finally surrendered to the sleep that had been threatening to claim them. Kenshin looked at Yahiko. He needed to be needed. Kenshin pulled out his sword and gave it to Yahiko. "Yahiko. We need to sleep and recover. Please guard the door for us."

The look on his face made Kenshin smile. The boy tucked the sword in his belt and went to stand in the doorway. Kenshin let himself finally drift off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 11.

The morning greeted Kagome with a blazing light in her eyes. She'd only managed a few hours of sleep. Today was going to be a hard one. She got up and looked around. Some of the other women were starting to rouse and move. Kaede was already up and had a delicious smell coming from her cook pot.

Kagome got up and stepped outside the hut. The men were already awake and coming towards the hut. Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and Miroku were coming up the road. Miroku looked helpless, as the two had resorted to verbal abuse of each other. Kagome was also surprised to see the young girl Rin chasing Sesshomaru along with Jaken right beside her. _Great. How many more people are going to get drawn into this?_

The men all reached Kaede's hut, and Hiko stepped forward. Jaken ran right into Hiko's leg and looked up at the giant man.

"Look out there, you stupid human!" Jaken said acidly as he waved his magic staff at the offending man.

Hiko deftly grabbed the staff away from Jaken. Jaken gasped and started to speak, but Hiko brought his foot down on him. He stomped a couple of times and then kicked Jaken into a high arc that sent him flying over the trees outside the village. Sesshomaru didn't even seem to notice. Rin however was laughing hysterically.

"At least not all demons are a threat," Hiko said simply.

"Good morning, Hiko-sama." Kagome said as nicely as she could.

Hiko looked at her coldly. "Where's Sango?"

"I'm here," Sango said as she wobbled out of the hut behind Kagome.

"You said something about being able to get weapons that could slay a demon did you not?" Hiko asked.

"Yes. But my clan was destroyed. There are still some weapons left there, but it is far way away in the mountains." Sango said apologetically.

"Old Totosai could probably fix us up." Inuyasha said helpfully. "He made our swords." He said as he flicked his hand to himself and his brother.

Hiko nodded. "Good we're going to need better weapons than we have now. I don't want to be left unprotected if those things come here."

"You can take Kirara, Inuyasha. She can have you there the fastest." Sango added helpfully.

"Good, because you need to heal." Inuyasha said. "I'm taking you with me too." Inuyasha said turning to Sesshomaru. "Kagome may have put a spell on you too, but I still don't trust you and I'm DEFINITELY not leaving you alone with Kagome."

Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha with thinly veiled hate, but said nothing.

"Good, that's taken care of then." Hiko said satisfied. "Have the doctor woman and that old priestess go take care of Cho, Sanosuke, and Soujiro. They've got the worst injuries." Hiko looked at Aoshi for a moment before he added, "Have Misao help them."

"I'll go help too." Miroku said solemnly. "I am a monk and I also have some training in the healing arts."

Kagome looked up at Hiko. "But…"

"No 'buts'. Saitoh, Aoshi, and Anji. You three go look at the defenses of this place. We need to be ready for an attack. See if you can find places for us to stay. I don't intend to spend our time here in a shed." Saitoh nodded and walked away with Aoshi and Anji.

"But…" Kagome tried.

"No 'buts'. Kenshin, see about gathering some food together and have the ladies make food for the rest of us. Help them, and take it to the other men. On second thought, get Kaoru to help you look for food. I don't want her anywhere near a pot."

"Hey, what am I supposed to do? Ugly usually teaches me in the morning." Yahiko griped.

"The first thing you're going to do is find me some sake. Then you can show me what you know after you've done five hundred swings." Hiko said to the boy. "Now, before my hangover gets any worse."

Kenshin smiled as Yahiko went running down the road on his mission. He called to Kaoru in the hut before going in. Hiko then turned to Sango. "Go lie down in the storage building for now. You'll need to get your strength back and Megumi and the others will have you all in one place. As soon as you do, the other men and I want to know everything we can about these demons."

Sango went towards the storage building. Sesshomaru looked at Kagome for a moment before turning to the young girl behind him. "Rin, you are to stay with Kagome until I return." The young girl jumped to attention and then ran over to Kagome. She sniffed the air for a moment and then ran into the hut. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru left for the edge of the village leaving her alone with Hiko.

"What about the explanation you were wanting?" Kagome asked quietly.

"Save it for later. We have bigger concerns right now, safety being the foremost. We are men of action, knowing WHAT to do is often more important than knowing WHY." Hiko said patiently.

"What do you want me to do then?" Kagome said earnestly.

"I don't know. What can you do?" Hiko said.

"Not much really. I know a little about medicine, from what I've gotten from my books and what Kaede has taught me. Megumi and Kaede are still far better at it though. I'm not much good in a fight. I've relied mostly on Inuyasha and my friend to protect me."

"You didn't seem so powerless last night at the well. It was your power that got us here, and your power that stopped those two." Hiko said shortly pointing after the two demonic brothers.

"Yeah, but I'm still studying. Alanor-sama was supposed to be teaching me, but he isn't here right now. All I have are his things." Kagome looked back at the hut forlornly.

"Then you may consider me your sensei until he returns. I know nothing of magic, and don't intend too, but I know plenty about giving orders. Go get your books and bring them out here and we'll get started. My abilities as a teacher are nearly as great as my sword skill. We should be able to come up with something." Hiko sat down on a log next to the hut.

Kagome went inside to get her things. Tae had taken over cooking with Tsubame, Tokio, and oddly, Kamatari. Megumi and Misao were heading out to take care of the wounded while Kaede was playing with the children. Kagome had never seen her happier. She looked like someone had given her a hut full of grandchildren. She gathered Shippou and the three little girls and took them outside to play. Ayame and Suzume were a little nervous, not knowing where their grandfather was, but Shippou had them laughing and smiling. This Rin girl looked to be enjoying the company as well. What was Sesshomaru doing with a human kid?

Kenshin and Kaoru headed out for the river to catch some fish and gather some food, so Kagome picked up her pack and the suitcase Alanor had sent with them and went outside. Hiko was waiting, as she moved over next to him and started opening the bags.

Yahiko returned with a jug of sake, and Hiko's mood visibly improved. "Good, now five hundred swings." He said.

"I haven't got a sword, old man." Yahiko said defiantly.

"Good, I'd hate to see a baka deshi like you cut his foot off. Go get a stick of about the right size and weight and come back here and get started on those seven hundred swings." Hiko said quietly, savoring the taste of the sake.

"Hey, you said five hundred!" Yahiko retorted.

"Eight hundred." Hiko continued.

Realizing the futility, and wanting to get some training from Kenshin's master sometime before he turned as old as Kenshin, Yahiko set off to find a weapon, grumbling every step of the way.

"The kid has a good spirit. I wish Kenshin had been as rebellious when he was that age. The boy is as stubborn as iron." Hiko said appreciatively.

"Doesn't that make it harder to teach him?" Kagome asked curious.

"Not really, have you ever seen a blacksmith forge mud?" Hiko smirked.

"Good point." Kagome noted.

She looked through her bags. She pulled out her own things and her own books. She had a few things that the others might consider 'magic', but mostly she wanted to get out the things she had brought back for Shippou. Coloring books, crayons, and huge lollipops, all these worked their own special magic when it came to controlling small children. She was going to need them too looking at the growing number of children her little group was accumulating.

Inside Alanor's suitcase she pulled out several bags that appeared to be empty. She opened one of them and was amazed to find that it was full. On the outside it appeared empty, but on the inside it was full of things. Kagome began pulling out different articles. She pulled out Alanor's gray cloak, and pulled out a pair of blue jeans. When she pulled out a pair of boxer shorts she blushed and quickly stuffed the rest of the clothes back in.

"Nothing, magical in there!" She said quickly as she stuffed the bag back in the suitcase.

The next bag held books. These were more interesting, or at least more useful. The titles were all in western letters, but she was able to make them out. There was _Modern Magical Energy Theory, Applied Thaumaturgy, Physiology of Demons, Temporal Distortion Magic, Oxnard's Book of Common Magic, Mystical History of the Far East,_ and_ The Book of People: A Historical Handbook for Time Travelers._

Kagome set aside the other bags for a moment and looked at the books. She had seen Alanor using the one about people. She gingerly opened the book. She found the pages about the different people. They were all blank.

"I wonder why I don't see anybody? Alanor was able to look at all of you." Kagome said perplexed.

Hiko sat back and thought about it for a moment. "I wonder how we were all conveniently in one book too."

Kagome thought back to the lesson at the well. _Imagine them with you and you can carry anyone you wish._ Kagome looked at the book and imagined Master Hiko. Nothing happened. She sighed and turned the page to find him staring back at her from the page. Hiko swore and stood up as he saw his image in the book. Kagome looked at the writing. It was in Japanese ready to be read.

"I take it you figured out how to use the book." Hiko said sitting down trying to cover his own shock. Yahiko came running up with a wooden stick about the size of the one he used to train with.

"It's about time, one thousand for being slow." Hiko said moodily.

Yahiko moaned and set to doing his swings. Kagome started reading. Master Hiko, thirteenth and last master of the Hiten Mitsarugi Style. Real Name: Fujita Watanabe. Son of a noble house of samurai, exiled for arrogance and impertinence to his uncle. Kagome scanned the rest of the history. It was pretty complete. She stopped at the next section. Currently displaced in the feudal era of Japan by novice Kagome Higurashi. Kagome gulped and looked at the next section. Significant historical references: Taught Hiten Mitsarugi to Kenshin Himura, see reference to Hitokiri Battousi in chapter on Bakumatsu.

Curious, Kagome turned to her own page. She looked at herself standing there, but the page was blank except for the words: Destiny erased by order of the High Wizards Council. Kagome looked up at Hiko who had apparently been reading over her shoulder. "Impertinence indeed." He said turning back to Yahiko.

Kagome looked at Yahiko too and turned to his page. Alanor had told them all to protect Yahiko and Tsubame at all costs. Name: Yahiko Myoujin, orphaned son of a samurai. Kagome scanned his past. It was an interesting tale, until something caught her eye. Yahiko rescued his future wife, Tsubame from a gang of street thugs that were threatening her.

Kagome looked at Yahiko, no big surprise there. The next section though was more disturbing. Currently displaced in the feudal era of Japan by novice Kagome Higurashi; must be returned to own time, see historical references. Kagome looked at the historical references. One stood out more than the others as it was outlined in red. Yahiko is ancestor to other historical figures, must not be disrupted from producing children with Tsubame, high probability of temporal distortion and possible destruction of Earth if disrupted.

Kagome looked at Hiko. "Where's Earth?" He asked.

"It's the whole world, including Japan." Kagome said slowly.

Hiko looked at Yahiko practicing. Kagome couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he was definitely thinking something.

Kenshin had to admit they had more fish in the past. He never was very adept at fishing, but here they seemed to be in abundance. He carried the fish in to the hut for Tae and then set out to find the other men with the food that Tae had prepared. He nearly dropped the bag when he stepped out of the hut.

Yahiko was standing in front of one of the huts while Kagome pulled back her bow. "Kagome-dono, STOP!" Kenshin cried as he ran to stop her.

Kagome loosed her arrow as Kenshin got to Yahiko, so he threw himself in front of him. He didn't know why Kagome had gone crazy, but he couldn't let Yahiko get hurt. Kenshin felt the arrow pierce his back, and then heard the solid 'THUNK' as it stuck into the wall.

"Kenshin! You're messing up my practice!" Yahiko yelled at him.

Kenshin looked down at the arrow in the wall and then looked down at himself. There was no wound.

"What's going on?" Kenshin said surprised at not being dead.

"Kagome is helping me train Yahiko, baka. As a priestess her sacred arrows only strike evil. She couldn't hurt Yahiko with them if she tried. Now if you don't mind, Yahiko is trying to learn to catch arrows." Hiko was sitting on the log flipping idly through one of Kagome's books.

Kenshin stepped back out of the way and tried to resist the urge to jump when Kagome drew back and fired at Yahiko. Yahiko made a valiant grab for the arrow, but it slid straight through his chest and buried itself in the wall. Kenshin watched as Yahiko retrieved about six such arrows from Kagome and carried them over to her.

"I'm still not getting it." Yahiko said glumly.

"Don't worry, Yahiko. You nearly caught the last one. We'll keep trying until you get it right." Kagome said happily.

Kenshin shook his head and went back inside for a moment. Kaoru was coming out and nearly jumped sky high when she saw what Yahiko was doing. Kenshin grabbed her arm as she ran to cover him. "He's practicing Kaoru-dono." Kenshin said in a shaken voice. "Let's just take this food to the others."

Dinner that night was a solemn affair. Sano and Cho had managed to hobble out to the large campfire Kenshin had made, and Soujiro was up and moving with a crutch Misao had gotten for him.

Night was descending on the village while they were talking. "So you say that this village is Tokyo of the past?" Hiko said incredulously.

"The road here is laid out in nearly the same identical location as the one that runs through town in our time." Saitoh was saying. "We're in a time before nearly everything we've ever known had been built. We even found where the Kamiya dojo is supposed to be eventually. It's on the other side of the river, at the edge of the forest. The Akabeko is going to be built over there." Saitoh pointed to a row of huts.

Kenshin thought about this for a moment. He himself was descended from lowly peasants far from Tokyo. "Kagome-dono, is it possible for us to be interacting with some of our ancestors here?"

Everyone looked at Kagome. "I checked the book Alanor left me and found only one villager related to any of you. One of the farmers here is an ancestor of Kaoru-san. That's the only one. He has a large family and hasn't even been given the surname Kamiya yet. Her family won't have that for another four generations or so."

Kaoru nodded. Kenshin had known hers was an old family. He didn't realize how old though. She didn't have any brothers to carry on the name either. Something bothered him about that.

"The rest of us are pretty safe as long as we don't go marrying into the village here, or start killing any villagers."

"So we've been drawn into the past because you were chased into our time by demons, is that correct?" Saitoh was saying. "Why did they chase you there, and why were you there in the first place?"

"Lay off Saitoh, this isn't an interrogation." Kenshin muttered.

"It's alright, Himura-san. I owe all of you an explanation. Demons dragged me into this time myself from the future. Your year was 1875. My year is 2003. I was brought here because I was the reincarnated soul of a priestess who lived in this time period named Kikyo. She was Lady Kaede's sister. I was born bearing this sacred jewel in my body. When I was brought here a demon ripped it out of me and shortly thereafter it was broken into many pieces. My friends and I gathered the pieces from a wicked demon named Naraku. When we had finally recovered all the pieces, Alanor showed up and told me that I could never return to my time because the demons wouldn't rest until they had sought out the jewel wherever and whenever it went. I decided to stay here with Inuyasha to help protect me and the jewel, but Inuyasha's sword style isn't exactly the best."

"Non-existent, would be the term I'd use." Sango put in sourly.

"Anyway, he's fast and he's strong because of his half demon blood, but he needs training. I found an article in one of my history books talking about the Bakumatsu. It said that the three greatest swordsmen of the time were Kenshin Himura, Hajime Saitoh, and Aoshi Shinomori. I set out to your time to try to find someone to teach Inuyasha how to properly use his sword. I didn't mean to drag you all into this. I thought I would be able to find one of you and convince you to come back here and teach Inuyasha. I didn't know the demons would be so close on my trail. I'm so sorry." Kagome was crying now.

Tae got up and put an arm around Kagome. "It's alright dear. You didn't know what would happen."

"Yeah, that bloody thing that came after you jammed that log in the well and stranded you there. It's not your fault." Sano agreed.

"Besides," Soujiro added in, "with the exception of some of the ladies here, we're all thoroughly acquainted with danger. The enemies might have changed, but risking our lives has come to be something of an occupational trait."

"So why are there demons in this time, but not in our own?" Kaoru asked.

"According to this book," Hiko said holding up the book he'd been looking at all day, "the demons all came to Japan in search of the sacred jewel. It's been around for longer than anybody can care to remember and the demons have been trying to get their hands on it the entire time. According to what this book calls 'conventional history' the demons maintained a demon gate that allowed them access to our world from the netherworld. They attacked and destroyed anything resembling a threat to them and searched for the jewel. Once it disappeared, they eventually lost interest in keeping the demon gate open and closed it."

"But now it's reappeared in this time, because I brought it back with me. Since I have it here now they won't close the gate and they'll just keep coming. They'll never close the gate until they get the jewel and destroy us with it." Kagome said sullenly.

"I guess that's as good of an explanation as any." Hiko said finally. "We should all get some sleep. Tomorrow we need to get started on something."

"More orders old man?" Saitoh said coldly.

"No, just suggestions. I don't think anyone here is going to be going back home to our time since leaving things the way they are probably means we won't have a time to go back to. We need to figure out where this demon gate is and close it, by force if necessary. We also need to build us someplace to stay. We can all decide that tomorrow."

Slowly the group dispersed to whatever dwelling they'd managed to come up with. Some of the huts in the village had been deserted, and the men had decided upon one thing by mutual agreement; no one was staying alone. Kenshin caught up to Kaoru, and walked next to her.

"Is something the matter Kaoru-dono?" Kenshin said to the little angel of his life.

"I was just thinking about the dojo. I wonder if it isn't better that we ended up here." Kaoru said as she walked towards the hut that Kaede had given her. "I mean I have no brothers to carry on the name of my father. The Kamiya dojo is nearly abandoned, and Yahiko is my only real student. Today he was practicing with Master Hiko and I've never seen him happier. Maybe I should just quit trying to be a teacher and find something else to do."

Kenshin looked at Kaoru and his heart was ready to break for her. He knew how much Kaoru needed to teach her sword style, he also new how much her family meant to her. He knew it because she had pretty much adopted a street kid, and taken in a couple of freeloading wanderers with checkered pasts and made them feel like family. All this time she had asked nothing in return. She might ask him to do laundry, or to do some chore for her, but she had never asked for anything as extraordinary as the caring and compassion she'd shown all of them. Kenshin felt less worthy of her now than he ever had before.

Kenshin stepped inside the hut with Kaoru. It was a small, one-room affair, and could barely be called a hut. Kaoru went and sat down heavily on the blankets against the back of the hut. She was hurting and Kenshin didn't know how to stop it. "Kaoru-dono, this unworthy one can't stand to see you hurt…"

"Oh, just stop it Kenshin!" Kaoru yelled finally. The dam had given way and the tears flowed down her cheeks. "All I ever hear from you is 'this unworthy one' this and 'Kaoru-dono' that. Why do you have to put me up on a shelf so far out of reach? I can't keep measuring up to the goddess you make me out to be! I can't cook, I can't be a lady, damn it even Kamatari is more feminine than I am! I can't even be a man either. My students are gone, and I can never hope to be as strong as the rest of you! Yahiko is right. I am ugly and I'm useless when it comes to fighting because you always have to come and rescue me! I can't do anything right!" Kaoru broke down then and wept bitterly against her blankets.

Kenshin stood there stunned for a few minutes. "Kaoru-dono. I mean, Kaoru. You are not worthless. You are kind, and compassionate. You have helped me be at peace with my past when I alone could not. Your sword style is not about being the strongest, but about helping people. You have been the one to set the example for the rest of us. There are men out here that I once called my enemies, that are now my friends and allies, because you helped me keep the killer inside of me at bay. Please don't cry, Kaoru. If I have made you cry, I am sorry. I am not worth crying over…"

Kaoru slapped him. Hard. "Kenshin no baka! Stop saying that! Don't you realize you are the same things you just got done attributing to me? You have risked your life to save me more times than I can mention! It hasn't always been your enemies either. Gohei was mine. Kenshin, why won't you let me…"

Kenshin looked at Kaoru confused. She had stopped suddenly and was holding her hands to her mouth. "Why won't I let you do what Kaoru?"

"WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LOVE YOU?" Kaoru cried finally.

Kenshin sat down hard across from Kaoru. He stared at her for a long time while she cried. She was crying because of him. Kenshin lowered his eyes. She had never cared about his past. She had always accepted him, no, loved him in spite of it. He had rescued her from Enishi. He knew he cared about her, and what was more she knew he cared for her. He had never told her though. She knew everything; his past, Tomoe, and still she loved him.

"Kenshin please say something." Kaoru cried. "I have held all this inside for so long because I was afraid it would drive you away. I was afraid you would go back to wandering and you would leave me. When you went to Kyoto I nearly died from loosing you. I'll die without you by my side Kenshin. I can't go on pretending anymore, I need you. Please don't hate me."

Kenshin looked up at Kaoru. His Kaoru. She belonged to no one else, and never would. He had grown too comfortable with the way things had been. He had hoped it would never change. What he realized now was that it had to change. He couldn't leave Kaoru like this. He could never leave her, period.

"Kaoru, I can't leave you. I tried to trick myself into believing that when I left for Kyoto I was doing what was best for you. I thought of you with every step I took towards Kyoto. You are the reason I'm alive. I would have given up and died at the hands of Shishio if I hadn't known you were waiting for me to come back; to come home, to you. Kaoru, if you will have me, I will spend the rest of my life taking care of you. I will spend the rest of my life giving you anything I can."

"Kenshin, all I've ever wanted was you, but it isn't enough that you belong to me like some sort of slave like you've made yourself out to be. _I_ want to belong to _you_. I want to be yours and to know that I am wanted." Kaoru said sagging visibly.

Kenshin was still a little stunned. She wanted to be his? He had always thought of Kaoru as independent, not wanting anyone else to take care of her. Kenshin had always cared for her and respected what he thought were her wishes. He had stayed by her side and served her. He belonged to her, and was hers to command, but to have her belong to him as well?

Kenshin reached a decision. He saw now what would make her happy. He got up and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "Kaoru, I promise you that I will never make you cry again. Be patient with me until we return home, and I will do everything in my power to make all your dreams come true. I will not let your family name end with you. Master Hiko gave me the name Kenshin, and the name Himura was granted by my masters during the Bakumatsu, but if you will have me, I will become your husband and I will take the name my parents gave me. My real name is Shinta, and I will become Kamiya Shinta for you. Kaoru will you be my wife."

Kaoru looked up at Kenshin and repeated the name silently. "Yes, Kenshin. I will marry you. It's all I've wanted since the moment I met you."

Kenshin leaned down and kissed Kaoru again. He looked back at the door, and then shrugged. He had planned on sleeping outside in front of the door. Instead he moved down next to Kaoru in the blankets and wrapped his arms around her. Kaoru wiggled into his embrace and snuggled close to him as he wrapped the blankets around them. _I am a baka._ Kenshin thought. _To think all this time I could have had all this._


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 12.

Sanosuke walked over to the hut as Megumi disappeared inside. It was going to be a long night. He and Kenshin had decided to post watch over Kaoru and Megumi. At the door to the hut where Megumi had gone in, Sanosuke sat down. After a few moments he heard crying coming from inside. He turned around and peeked inside. Megumi had her hands full with two crying little girls.

"I want my grandpa!" Suzume started crying.

"Me too!" Ayame chorused in. Megumi looked like she was at her wits end when Sanosuke came into the hut. Megumi helped Dr. Genzai take care of the two little ones, but right now nothing seemed to be working.

"What's all this then?" Sanosuke said as he came in.

"They're crying for their grandfather, rooster head." Megumi said with annoyance in her voice.

"Well, fine, if you don't want my help…" Sanosuke said as he turned to leave.

"Don't you dare! I need some help here." Megumi wasn't exactly the motherly type Sanosuke thought to himself, even if she was a doctor.

"Alright little ones, come here and tell me what's wrong." Sanosuke said taking up the two little girls in his arms.

"We're scared" the two of the whimpered.

"Well its OK, Megumi and I are here to protect you." Sanosuke said.

"Grandpa always scares away the monsters." Ayame said innocently.

_I wish he could scare away THESE monsters._ Sanosuke thought bitterly. "Well, I'm here to fill in for tonight little ones. We'll get you back to your grandpa as soon as we can."

"Grandpa is the only one that can do it!" Suzume said passionately. "He's the only one that can do it since mommy and daddy died."

Sanosuke felt like a heel for saying this, but if it kept the little girls quiet, he'd just have to get over it. "I'll be your daddy for tonight little ones."

Ayame and Suzume looked up at Sanosuke with tears still in their little eyes. _Man, don't look at me like that girls._ "You can't be our daddy, you don't have a mommy to go with you." Ayame said.

Suzume looked at Megumi and said the unthinkable. "Megumi, if Sano is our daddy, will you be our mommy?"

Sano looked at Megumi, _Yeah, would you fox?_

"Of course I will little one. Just go to sleep." Megumi said, though she didn't look at Sanosuke.

Suzume looked at Ayame and smiled. "We have a mommy and daddy again!" she whispered.

It took a while but Sanosuke finally rocked the two little girls to sleep. Megumi took them from him and put them to bed. Sano leaned against the back wall and let his back ease for a moment.

"What's going to happen to these two when Dr. Genzai, well, you know…" Sano was uncomfortable with the thought, but the girls had gotten him to thinking. "The only family I know of them having is his sister, and I don't think she can handle two little girls."

"Dr. Genzai has talked to me about it before. I'll probably take over the clinic, but I don't know about raising two little girls by myself." Megumi looked at the two sleeping girls and lay down between them and the wall.

"I could probably help you with them." Sanosuke said quietly.

Megumi started to laugh out loud but hushed quickly to keep from waking the two girls. "You must be joking. You're not exactly an ideal father figure."

"You don't have a real high opinion of me, do you fox?" Sano challenged.

"No, I don't. You never think things through. You'll make all kinds of promises, and then you turn out to be unreliable. You jump in and never stop to think of the consequences. I've seen your kind before Sanosuke Segara." Megumi kept her voice down, but the heat in her voice spoke volumes. She hated him all right.

"How many?" Sanosuke said quietly.

"What?"

"How many men have you seen like me?" Sano said. "I know you've been hurt before Megumi. Any man with a brain could tell that you had something against them or else a woman like you would have either a husband or at least a dozen suitors."

"Don't you even pretend to know anything about me Sanosuke Segara."

"I'll take that as a lot then." Sano could hear her frustration, but he was tired of fighting with her. "I'd change for you fox. You make me want to be a better man. I'm not going to say I did all this time, at first I hated you. I hated you for the opium you made that killed my friend. I hated you for being so arrogant, and I hated you for being so hard on other people. It wasn't until I realized you were afraid of letting anybody get close that I started to like you. You were actually human under that exterior you put up."

"I am afraid of nothing." Megumi spat at him. She was close to tears.

"Is that why you keep flirting with Kenshin then. You know as well as I do that he belongs to Kaoru. He loves her, and he still keeps her at a distance. I figure that was what you were looking for, distance. You were afraid of anything else. Damn it Megumi, I know you think I'm just some sort of bum that would never amount to anything else, but I would change if I thought there was anything there waiting for me if I did." Sano finished and then got up. He blew out the oil lamp and headed for the door. He'd said his piece and now he was leaving. He'd figured it was useless, but he at least had needed to try.

"Sano." Megumi's voice came to him as he stood at the doorway.

"Yeah." Sano was numb. It was the only way he could describe it.

"Please stay. You can sleep here by the girls. They'll want you here if they wake up." Megumi said from the dark.

"What do YOU want?" Sano said seriously.

"If you stay with me tonight, then we can talk about it tomorrow while the children are gone playing. I mean, seriously talk about it." Megumi said solemnly.

Sano hesitated a moment, but moved toward the girls. He lay down on the other side of them and felt a blanket laid over him by Megumi. Sano moved over onto his side and stretched out his arm over the girls' heads. After a while he felt Megumi take his hand. He sighed for a moment as sleep over took him and his little pseudo-family. It wasn't great, but it was a start.

Tae watched the as everyone went to their huts for the night. She and Tsubame had been fortunate enough to get a hut to themselves. Most of the men would be sleeping outside tonight. She stretched and got ready to head for the hut when Hiko took her hand. She looked down at Hiko in surprise, but he turned for a moment.

"Yahiko." Hiko said to the boy getting ready to sleep.

"Yes, Master Hiko?" Yahiko said back sleepily.

"I have a task for you."

"Aw, can't I get you another jug of sake in the morning?"

"No this is something else. Take my sword and go protect Tsubame tonight. I don't want any of the women to be left alone and you're the only one Tsubame trusts. Now go boy." Hiko pulled out his sword and sheath and threw it to Yahiko. Yahiko looked down at the weapon as his eyes opened wider and wider.

"Yes Master Hiko!" Yahiko was barely out of his bow before he took off for the hut at a dead run. Something passed between Hiko and the other men. Anji and Cho got up and followed after him. Tae watched as Yahiko went and escorted Tsubame into the hut. Cho and Anji took up positions around the hut quietly and settled down for the night.

"So where am I supposed to sleep?" Tae said to the large swordsman.

"Wherever you like. I'm not going to stop you." Hiko said downing a little more sake.

"You men are all alike, you make your decisions and you don't take anyone else into consideration." Tae scolded. She didn't particularly like the idea of sleeping out in the cold night air.

"Hmm, you're not used to men making decisions for you are you Ms. Tae." Hiko said almost amused.

"No, I run my own business. I don't need a man telling me how to do things. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Tae said turning her back to him.

"Which is precisely why I didn't worry about letting Yahiko spend the night with Tsubame. A woman capable of taking care of herself shouldn't have a problem roughing it out here with the men. You see I was considering someone, it just didn't happen to be you." Hiko chuckled.

"You are an arrogant and obnoxious man Master Hiko." Tae said turning on him.

"Maybe so, but the boy needed to be indoors and from what I've seen you wouldn't mind the two of them getting a little closer either."

"That's different, Tsubame cares for Yahiko certainly but she doesn't need to be sleeping with him at her age." Tae said incredulously.

"I'd be surprised if he knew what to do. Knowing my baka deshi, the boy probably hasn't got the foggiest idea what a woman is like. I really need to give Kenshin some pointers on raising children." Hiko drank down some more sake and handed the jug to Tae.

"Here, it'll keep you warm. You can have my bedroll. I'll probably just sit and sleep here by the fire." Hiko sat up and threw another piece of wood onto the fire and sat back. Tae looked at the bedroll and looked back at Hiko.

She sat down next to him and took a sip of the sake before handing it back to him. "You certainly know how to charm women." Tae said sarcastically.

"I've never needed a woman. I'm perfectly content living in my cottage and making my pottery. It makes me enough money to buy food and sake." Hiko said defensively.

"No wonder you need the sake then." Tae said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Men always need something to keep them happy. For some it's their work, for others their families, but it's always something they need to keep them going. Without it, I imagine all men would sink into a jug of sake and never come out." Tae said wistfully.

Hiko snorted next to her. "You shouldn't classify all men like that."

"And you shouldn't try to make assumptions for women that aren't yours."

"You mean you aren't? I thought all women loved such a splendid swordsman as myself." Hiko said proudly.

"Yeah right. Women want more than a big set of muscles. They want caring and security, not bravado and overstated masculinity. You should take a few lessons from Kenshin." Tae said mischievously.

"What? Me take lessons from that baka? That'll be the day. He can't even get things straight with his own woman." Hiko said hotly.

"Kenshin may have is problems, but you have to admit he's captured Kaoru's heart well enough. She wouldn't have followed him all the way to Kyoto if she didn't love him." Tae said sagely. "You should try it, you might find life with a good woman better than sake."

Tae got up and unrolled the bedroll. She got into the thing and moved over to one side. "Try not to wake me up when you come to bed."

"What do you mean, 'when I come to bed'?" Hiko said hotly.

"Nothing. Just wondered how you would feel to have a woman make assumptions and decisions for YOU for a change." Tae said warmly.

"You shouldn't make decisions for men that aren't yours." Hiko said mimicking Tae.

"You mean you aren't?" Tae shot back. "Now shut up and come to bed, it's freezing under here."

Tsubame gasped as Yahiko darted into the room. All she had on was a light robe. Yahiko was immediately blushing. "Uh, I'm sorry! I'm supposed to come protect you tonight." Yahiko said dumbly.

"Where is Ms. Tae, Yahiko?" Tsubame asked sweetly.

"I think she's staying outside with Master Hiko." Yahiko replied as he sat down across the lamp from her. "He gave me his sword to protect you with tonight."

Tsubame smiled at Yahiko and his pulse started racing again. It always did that when she smiled at him. Yahiko gripped the sword tighter as his palms began to sweat. Tsubame got into her futon and rolled towards him. "Where are you going to sleep Yahiko?"

_Can I sleep with you?_ Yahiko shook the unbidden thoughts from his mind. He definitely didn't want to hurt Tsubame like that. Kenshin would have proven to be a total basket case if he'd asked him about women. After seeing his performance handling Kaoru, he'd dropped that idea. It was one of the few times Yahiko could say 'Thank goodness for Sanosuke'.

"I'll just sit up here and stand watch." Yahiko turned back towards the door. He had always had Tsubame on his mind ever since he had met her that day while he was training. He wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms, but he had already decided that he wasn't going to dishonor Tsubame. As soon as he was strong enough, he was going to find a way to support her and then he was going to marry her. He had seen the ring Kenshin had botched the engagement to Kaoru with, and ever since then he'd had his mind made up. Tsubame was going to have one of those rings.

Yahiko felt Tsubame put her hands on his shoulders. She took hold of him and put her forehead against the back of his neck. "Yahiko, will you do something for me?" _Oh god, I won't dishonor her. I won't. I won't. I won't. I won't. I won't. But if she asks, oh Kami-sama, what am I going to do?_

"Anything you want of me Tsubame. You know that." _If she wants that, I'm going to run screaming out of here that's what I'll do._

"Will you sleep with me tonight?" Tsubame asked in a whisper.

_All right Myoujin, here's your cue. Start screaming any minute now._ "But, Tsubame…"

"I want you to hold me. I want to feel warm and safe with you." Tsubame said into his back.

_Get your mind out of the gutter Myoujin! She just wants to cuddle._ "OK."

Yahiko got into the futon beside Tsubame. He was going to give her the only pillow, but she slid it under his head and rested her own on his arm. Yahiko felt his whole body stiffen as she wrapped his other arm around her. She pulled it up over her heart and held his hand with her own.

_My hand is between her breasts!_ Yahiko thought ecstatically. Yahiko tried to get a grip on his raging pre-teen hormones. Finally his body began to relax and he could feel the warmth of Tsubame against him. He could smell the scent of her hair, and it was intoxicating.

"Good night, Yahiko."

"Good night. Uh, Tsubame?"

"Yes, Yahiko?"

"Can I kiss you good night?"

Tsubame rolled over in his arms and kissed him deeply. Yahiko was still new at the whole kissing thing, but he let his instincts guide him. He cradled Tsubame and pressed his lips firmly to hers. Then shyly he began to move his tongue across her mouth. Tsubame parted her lips and before he knew it he was having the most passionate kiss he'd ever shared with her. He didn't know how, but somehow he'd rolled back and Tsubame was now on top of him.

Breathless Tsubame pulled away to catch her breath as Yahiko did the same. She laid her head against his chest and seemed to be listening to his heartbeat. "Yahiko?"

"Yeah, Tsubame?" Yahiko said between long inhaling breaths.

"If you want me, I won't stop you." Tsubame said timidly.

Yahiko nearly forgot to breathe. "Tsubame?"

"I only feel safe when I'm with you Yahiko. I've seen how the other girls have had problems opening up to the men in their lives and I don't want to be like that. I don't think you would ever hurt me or you wouldn't have risked your life to save me. I want you to know that I am yours. I want to give you everything for the happiness you've given me." Tsubame said in a hush.

"Tsubame, I love you. You don't have to give me anything for that. I'm going to marry you as soon as I'm able so I can be with you as an honorable husband. You make me feel strong, and you make me feel needed. As long as you're here I have someone to protect and it gives me meaning. You've made me just as happy."

Yahiko pulled Tsubame back to his side and pulled her even closer. "I want you more than anything else I've ever wanted Tsubame, but I'm not going to rush you. I love you to much to dishonor you."

Tsubame reached up and caressed his cheek. "I love you too."

"Good night, my Tsubame."

"Good night, my Yahiko."

Yahiko drifted off to sleep with his beloved Tsubame in his arms, and was happier than he'd ever been before in his life.

Misao sighed as she looked at Tae and Hiko. Hiko-sama was definitely getting exactly what he deserved. She almost felt sorry for him, but then there were worse things than having Tae decide to make you hers. Hiko was definitely in for an interesting experience.

At least she wouldn't be the only woman out here. All the other women had been given spare huts to sleep in. Kagome and two of the children, Rin and the little fox-child Shippou, were staying with Kaede. She however had decided to sleep out here with the men. That way she could be closer to her Aoshi. Kamatari was out here too, but 'she' was sleeping further away.

Misao looked at Aoshi. The man was so still you could never tell if he was asleep or awake with his eyes closed. He had always controlled his breathing so that wasn't a good indication either. She sat up and looked around. Even Tsubame had someone close to her tonight, and Misao had to be honest, she was just a little bit jealous.

Finally giving up on the sleep that was managing to elude her Misao got up and started towards the river. She didn't really have any other place to go. As she walked towards the river she passed another one of the extra huts and heard "Oh, Saitoh" followed by some giggles.

Blushing furiously, Misao ran the rest of the way to the river. What Saitoh did with his own wife was his business, but it conjured up mental images that Misao REALLY didn't want to dwell on. The idea of Saitoh married was wrong enough; the idea of him actually getting anywhere tonight just seemed twisted AND wrong.

Misao finally got down to the river and found a tree to sit under. She sat down on the soft ground and tried to think. Suddenly a voiced interrupted her thoughts.

"Uh, Misao?"

Misao jumped nearly out of her skin. "Who's there?"

"It's me Soujiro." He said out of the darkness.

"Where are you? I don't see you."

"Down here. You're sitting on me." Soujiro said. Misao looked down to realize she was sitting on Soujiro's stomach.

"What are you doing here Sou-chan?" Misao said as she slid off him.

"I came down here to sleep and listen to the river. There are fireflies out tonight too." Soujiro said sleepily.

Misao looked out at the river and watched the fireflies. She sighed. He was right, it was so romantic that it made her heart ache and here she was sitting here alone. Well, Sou-chan was here, but he didn't count.

"Do you mind if I stay down here for a while?" Misao said quietly.

"Of course, not. You seem depressed though." Sou-chan said worriedly.

"I am a little. All the other women have someone to be with tonight except me. Kagome's alone, but that's because her man is away tonight. I even saw Miroku and Sango together. They were going to go camp next to the well in case anything came out or in case Alanor showed up. I'm the only one that's lonely." Misao was ready to cry.

"Aoshi-sama still not paying you any attention?" Sou-chan asked.

"It's not just that. I have to accept the idea that Aoshi may never return my feelings for him. I'm just so tired of being lonely. I want someone to hold me and to care for me too. I'm not like Tae. I need someone." Misao really did start crying this time.

Soujiro sat up and put a hand on her shoulder. Misao turned around and knocked him to the ground as she buried her head in his chest and sobbed. She stayed that way for quite some time.

"Sou-chan, can I stay down here with you tonight? I don't want Aoshi to see me like this." Misao said softly.

"Sure Misao, anything you want." Soujiro told her kindly.

Misao looked out at the river. The wind picked up for a moment, reminding Misao that her legs were uncovered. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered her blankets were still up at the camp.

Without speaking, Soujiro pulled his blanket over the two of them. Misao huddled close to get warm and looked out over the river. Soujiro put his arms around her shivering shoulders and she welcomed the warmth.

It was in that moment reality decided to intrude on her. Her mind started taking a quick inventory of her situation. It was a romantic evening with fireflies dancing over a quiet river, it was a night cold enough to require a blanket and preferably someone to be close too without freezing to death, she was laying in a blanket in the arms of a man with her head on his chest, all this and it WASN'T her Aoshi.

Misao started to panic. She switched Soujiro and Aoshi in the equation. If Aoshi were here she would be on cloud nine. This would be the most romantic moment of her life. Well, actually the night was no less romantic, but it was with the WRONG GUY!

Misao started to say something, but she heard Soujiro's soft snore. He had already drifted off to sleep. Misao didn't want to wake him, so she was stuck. Here she was spending the most romantic moment of her life with Seta Soujiro.

Misao closed her eyes and started to think again. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Sou-chan, far from it. He had an impressive array of qualities that any girl would love to be snuggled up to like this. It was just that she had always dreamed of a moment like this with Aoshi.

It was then that it struck her. In all the years she'd been with Aoshi, all she could ever do was _dream_ about a moment like this. Yet somehow, here she was falling into this moment with someone who was her friend. A friend she was starting to feel rather close too. Misao thought about this some more. In the short time she'd known Soujiro he had gone from enemy to close friend. At least he better be a close friend if she was lying here in his arms, truth be known he needed to be more than that.

Misao unconsciously started comparing him to Aoshi. Both men had blood on their hands. Soujiro had probably killed a few more, but Aoshi had nearly killed Okina. Both men would probably die to protect her. She had seen Soujiro fight. He had been the last one to leave the battle with the demons. He had outlasted even Aoshi. Both of them were brave, and strong. The only difference that Misao could see was that Soujiro was kind and supportive, while Aoshi remained cold and aloof. There was also the fact that Aoshi was quite a few years older than Misao while Soujiro was just a year or two older.

There was also the fact that Soujiro was here right now while Aoshi was elsewhere.

What did Soujiro feel? He had always been there for her. He'd followed blindly while she'd dragged him around Japan and now they were stuck here in the past and he still stayed by her side. She needed to talk to Soujiro about all this. She needed to know, because if he was in love with her she felt like she'd be leading him on. What if Aoshi doesn't love me, and Soujiro does? What then? Could she throw away someone who loved her for someone who didn't? Could she actually love Soujiro?

Questions kept floating through Misao's mind as she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 13.

The warm sun woke Misao the next day. She'd been having dreams of Aoshi, as normal, but last night she kept finding herself with Soujiro. Soujiro was apparently still asleep, so Misao opened her eyes.

She had always dreamed of Aoshi's face being the first thing she saw when she awoke. Under the circumstances this morning, it hadn't been something she had hoped for. However his face WAS the first thing she saw. He was standing on the riverbank looking at her dispassionately. Here she was having spent the night sleeping with Soujiro, something she'd been dreaming of doing with Aoshi, and now her dream of seeing her as she awakened had to be realized like this?

Misao slowly raised up, a blush coloring her cheeks. "Aoshi-sama."

Aoshi looked at her for a moment longer before turning back to the river. "You should have taken one of the huts Misao. The night would have been more comfortable for the two of you. I have been your protector since you were small, but since you have grown you have become more independent and it has been hard for me to protect you and still maintain my position as leader of the Oniwaban. I have asked Soujiro to protect you from now on." With that Aoshi turned and walked back towards camp.

_Since I've been grown?_ Misao said the words over to herself. Aoshi didn't see her as a child. She was a grown woman to him now. A grown woman he had apparently grown tired of protecting, a grown woman he apparently considered incapable of taking care of herself. She was a grown woman that had just been handed over to Soujiro like some sort of bloody family HEIRLOOM!

Misao got to her feet and looked down at Soujiro…

Soujiro stirred slowly. He thought he heard voices, but the only voice he cared to hear was Misao's. He was stiff because he hadn't moved all night long. He hadn't wanted to let go of the woman in his arms. He hated to admit it, but he had grown to care about Misao deeply. He hadn't been able to contain himself when he'd talked to Aoshi that night, and had scarcely been able to contain his happiness when Aoshi had given him the blessing to pursue Misao. He'd been laying there last night trying to figure out how to approach her when fate brought her to him. Last night had been perfect.

Soujiro opened his eyes just as the foot came down on his forehead. The entire world suddenly swam with exploding colors and stars.

"SOUJIRO YOU JERK!" Misao cried as she stomped off towards camp.

Soujiro sat up and watched her back, well backside, as she stomped away. "What did I do?"

"He did WHAT?" Kaoru said, astonished.

"He GAVE me to him like some piece of meat!" Misao said in between sobs. When she left the riverbank that morning, she had run to the only friend whom she could spill her heart to about her love life. Fortunately, Kenshin had already been stepping out of the hut he had shared with Kaoru as Misao barreled past him and in to see Kaoru.

Kaoru shook her head sadly. Misao could only imagine what she was thinking. Finally, Kaoru go to her feet. "We're going down to the river for a bath. Kagome said there is a nice secluded spot down there where Kaede took her. We're going to gather all the ladies and go down there for a long talk."

"I'm sorry to dump all my troubles on you Kaoru." Misao cried. She sniffed a little and then looked up at Kaoru. "I saw Kenshin leaving this morning, did things go well between the two of you last night?"

Kaoru's smile spoke volumes. "Kenshin proposed last night. I still don't think he understands how much I want a husband instead of a servant. I was an emotional wreck yesterday and last night. I really feel bad about the way I acted. It's my cycle. I couldn't control my emotions after everything that's happened."

Misao nodded, they'd all been through a lot. She only wished that crying and yelling could solve _her_ problems. As the two talked about Kenshin, Tae came in with a tray. "I thought I'd find you here Misao. I noticed you didn't come back to camp last night. I started to worry, but Hiko said you'd be all right."

Misao glared into the bowl Tae gave her. "Men!" she said venomously.

Tae looked at Misao and smiled knowingly. "I take it Aoshi told you what he told Soujiro."

Misao's face turned several different shades of red. "You know?"

Tae nodded. "All the men were there when Aoshi said it to Soujiro. None of the women really know though, except for maybe Tokio, and I don't think she's one for gossip."

"How did you find out?"

"You think I'm going to let _Master_ Hiko off with just a vague reassurance? I made him explain why he thought you would be OK, so he told me that Soujiro was probably guarding you. Apparently, the men decided not to let any of the women be alone last night." Tae sniffed at this.

Misao got up and gave her bowl back to Tae. "We're all going down to the river to bathe. I need to wash the stink of men off me."

"Certainly dear, I'll get the other ladies."

As one the little troop of women marched down to where the men were seated around a fire pit discussing their options. Misao watched as Tae took the lead and went up to Hiko. Yahiko had just returned with a jug of sake, and Hiko was just about to open it when Tae promptly snatched it from him.

"Hey, I was drinking that." Hiko complained.

"Not anymore you're not. You drink too much Hiko. You men need to keep clear heads. That and should you actually decide to DO something today you should be helping instead of sitting on a log all day drinking sake." Tae turned and handed the sake to Megumi.

"Who put you in charge?"

"I did, by unanimous vote." Tae said sweetly. "There's soup in Kaede's hut for anyone who wants breakfast, and I've made rice balls for your lunch. The ladies and I are going down to the river to bathe, otherwise we'll end up smelling like you men do."

The women then headed off for the river. Tae looked back over her shoulder and shouted one more thing. "Yahiko! Don't be getting him any more sake either. He'll get it when I say he gets it."

Misao brought up the rear and could just barely make out the men as they marched away. "I didn't realize that Master Hiko and Mistress Tae were married." Anji said innocently. She missed Hiko's retort, but it sounded violent.

She quickly caught up to the rest of the women, since most of them wore kimonos. They walked down to the river with Kagome leading the way. Sango joined them half way there and fell into step beside Misao. The two ninja women walked up ahead of the rest of the women and were following Kagome when they reached the bushes that hid a sandy bank that jutted out into the river.

Misao saw Kagome freeze in her tracks, and froze herself as her eyes connected with what Kagome was staring at. The rest of the women stopped as well, looking into the river. There, near the bank of the river, a little over waist deep stood Kamatari.

Kamatari turned, and quickly covered her breasts sinking to neck deep quickly. The damage had been done however. Kamatari had breasts, and all the women had seen them. Kamatari was blushing furiously.

The tears wouldn't stop. Suddenly Misao was bawling for all she was worth. Everyone looked at her with confusion, at least more confusion considering the circumstances. "It's not FAIR!" Misao sobbed as tears flew out of her eyes like a river. "Even one of the GUYS has bigger breasts than I do!"

Most of the women just rolled their eyes. Kaoru was the first to speak. "Kamatari, I thought you were a cross dresser. Why didn't you tell us you were really a woman?" Kaoru said as she started shrugging out of her clothes.

"Uh…" was all Kamatari could get out.

The rest of the women seemed relieved and started undressing as well. Megumi was the only one not getting undressed. The women all started getting into the water chattering about different things.

"Uh, I'm just getting done. Could you all turn your backs while I slip out of here?" Kamatari said shyly.

"Oh, please." Tae said jovially. "Your secret is safe with us Kamatari. I know how hard it is to make it in a man's world. I guess men even have more respect for cross dressers than an actual woman. By the way, doesn't it hurt binding your chest that tightly?" Misao started crying again.

"You get used to it…" Kamatari said vaguely trying to back away from all of them and still reach the shore.

"How do you get that, you know, bulge down there. Do you roll up some tabi and stuff them in some way?" Tokio said conversationally.

"That's what my younger sisters used to do." Tokio said defensively when the other women started looking at her. "Only they were trying to make their breasts seem larger." Misao made a mental note about that one.

"Uh, no, it's kind of hard to explain…" Kamatari was still backing away and was looking around as if for a place to hide.

"It's real. Isn't it?" Megumi said from the shoreline.

Kamatari froze and looked at Megumi with terror crossing her features.

The rest of the women looked back and forth between the two of them as new waves of confusion began to set in.

"What are you talking about Megumi?" Kaoru said shakily. "She's a woman, we all saw her chest."

"But you didn't see below her waist." Megumi said clinically. "Is it true Kamatari?"

Kamatari looked down at the water and started to cry. It was amazing for the women, who still sometimes thought of her as a man to watch her cry. Finally she nodded. The women all gasped and started covering themselves.

"What do you mean?" Kaoru said shocked.

"The term is called hermaphrodite." Megumi said sadly. "It means that she has both male and female gender. Apparently she has a woman's torso and a man's lower half."

The rest of the women looked at Kamatari who looked ready to sink under the water and disappear. "It's better to be a social freak than to be looked at like a freak of nature." Kamatari said heatedly. "Now if you ladies will please turn away, I'll leave you to your bathing."

Everyone was silent until Megumi started undressing. "You don't have to leave for our sakes." Megumi said taking off her clothes. She stepped into the river and began washing herself. "You might as well stay. The men wouldn't understand, and we're not about to go telling them, are we." Megumi eyed the rest of the stunned women coldly and extracted nods from each of them.

Tae was looking at Kamatari herself. "So you can't find a place with either gender?"

Kamatari still didn't look comfortable, but hadn't moved. She obviously hadn't finished bathing, as her hair was still dry. "No, when I was a young boy I tried to be a boy and court young girls. I really wasn't attracted to any girls though. I kept finding myself attracted to the other boys. It wasn't until these things started to grow that I realized why. Seeing these things scared the girls about as much as seeing the other would scare a man."

Misao watched as Kaoru went over to Kamatari and took her hand, pulling the young 'woman' back over to the rest of them. "Don't worry Kamatari, we can't see your lower half and you look like the rest of us otherwise. We'll turn our backs when you get out. You're one of the girls, now."

Misao had to admit, that if you were just looking at Kamatari from the waist up, she looked like an attractive young woman. It was little wonder that she and Kaoru had mistaken her for a woman when they first met her.

Tae seemed to become strictly business-like. "So what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Kagome said washing her hair. She had brought something called shampoo and the other ladies were delighting in it.

"Some of the men have been acting like jerks ever since we got here." Tae said, then looked at Misao. "Some before then even. There isn't a woman here that isn't having man troubles, including Kamatari."

"I'm not having man trouble." A small voice said shyly.

"OK, every body but Tsubame is having man troubles. I still think that the only reason that she doesn't have man troubles is because Yahiko isn't a man yet."

"Why must men be so aggressive?" Kagome said. It was of course rhetorical; one might as well ask why the sky was blue.

"At least your men are all aggressive. Mine has to be led everywhere or else he doesn't go." Kaoru said glumly. "I want Kenshin to be at least a little more aggressive. I've lived alone, I've made my own decisions and quite frankly I'd rather have a husband."

"You're setting womankind back hundreds of years you realize that don't you." Tae said flatly.

"We ARE back hundreds of years, Tae." Misao said hotly.

"I don't let men walk all over me!" Sango said in a huff.

"You can't tell me that Miroku isn't aggressive." Kagome said.

"Well, yeah, but not so much that it isn't cute." Sango said defensively.

"Please ladies," Tae said rolling her eyes. "Men will be men, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing necessarily, but these guys have been running around as if we were some sort of luggage they had to take care of and it's demeaning."

Megumi shrugged and went back to rinsing her hair. "You can't change men. They'll always be the big stupid brutes that are pretty to look at, but hell to live with when they get older. Much like cats, I think."

"Yeah, but I for one don't intend to become one of the little old ladies that have nothing else in their lives, but a house full of cats." Kagome said worriedly.

"Please ladies, I think Misao probably has the worst problem of all of us right now." Tae said seriously.

"What would that be dear?" Tokio said to Misao quietly.

"Aoshi gave me to Soujiro." Misao said darkly.

"I can definitely think of worse things than that." Megumi said brightly. "Soujiro is a cute boy. Don't get me wrong, Aoshi is handsome and all, but Soujiro just has that sweet cuteness you just want to cuddle up to at night."

Misao hoped desperately that she wasn't giving anything away by blushing, so she disguised it with anger. "It's not that Megumi! How would you like it if Sanosuke walked up to you and said that he was tired of you and that now Cho was going to be your boyfriend?"

"I'd be thankful he picked someone who at least had a steady job." Megumi thought about it for a moment though. "Then, of course I'd have to kill him. It's not his place to be telling me who I should be with."

"My point exactly. I want to choose, not to have it chosen for me." Misao said whining.

"I thought Aoshi was supposed to be your guardian. Wouldn't it be about the same as a father giving his blessing to a young suitor or something? I mean it's pretty obvious you and Soujiro have been getting rather, close, since you met him." Megumi smiled wickedly.

Misao was blushing furiously now. Soujiro was her friend, sort of. Sure he was cute, warm, friendly, caring, strong, brave, handsome, and had a perfect body to die for, but he wasn't named Aoshi, not that 'Soujiro' didn't sound pretty either. Misao shook herself out of her thoughts to realize all the other women were laughing.

"What's so funny?" Misao said hotly.

Tae was still chuckling. "Nothing, you just got the same look on your face that Tsubame gets when she's thinking about Yahiko." As if on cue, Tsubame went quiet looking of into space with an unmistakable expression of longing crossing her face.

"OK, so Soujiro _is_ cute. It doesn't mean that I can still let the two of them get away with it." Misao said quietly. This obtained the general consent of the women. Men could do a lot of things, but a woman's heart was NOT something to be traded to other men like women traded recipes.

Misao was looking at each of them when her eyes came to rest on Kamatari. Suddenly a plan began to form in Misao's mind. If Aoshi didn't want her, fine, she wouldn't waste her time chasing the man anymore. She would look for someone new, even if it meant going along with the 'trade'. She wasn't about to loose someone as special as Soujiro out of spite. However two could play at trading games.

"Kamatari, do you want Aoshi?" Misao said slyly.

"That isn't a fair question Misao. I think I'd take anybody who didn't run away from me. It's been kind of lonely." Kamatari said in exasperation.

"No, I mean you get along pretty well with Aoshi right?"

"Yeah, so."

"I'm giving him to you."

"What in the name of Kami-sama are you talking about?"

"If Aoshi thinks he can give me away to Soujiro, fine. I'll give him to you. You now have exclusive rights to Aoshi." Misao grinned wickedly to the other women. "We're going to set-up Aoshi. It will help Kamatari, and it will get me even with Aoshi!"

"What are you planning weasel." Megumi said slyly.

"A plan that would do you proud fox. We're also going to fix Kenshin and the other men while we're at it. It's time these men started paying more attention to us, and this is how we're going to do it."

Kenshin sat at the edge of the river with the other men. The women had been gone for a few minutes to go take their bath. The monk Miroku came and sat near him. "I sense Inuyasha returning." Miroku said distantly.

"So, that's what it is. I've been sensing something for some time now, but couldn't figure out what it was. Does Inuyasha always resonate with such malevolence?" Kenshin didn't know much about the half demon, but apparently Kagome exercised control over it.

"Not usually, but when his brother is around he tends to become a great deal more malevolent. I really don't know if I agree with Kagome binding Sesshomaru like that. He is a dangerous enemy who has nearly killed us all several times before." Miroku crossed his arms and closed his eyes as if concentrating.

Kenshin looked at Saitoh and the other men trying to decide what they needed to do next. He could definitely understand the problems of having to rely on a former enemy as an ally. Life could be that way sometimes.

Kenshin considered the rest of the men for a moment. Most of them except for master Hiko had been an enemy at some point. It was interesting that Master Hiko had never been his enemy and he liked him the least including Saitoh. You knew where you stood with Saitoh, whereas Hiko seemed to prefer other men kneeling.

Kenshin looked off in the direction of the well. A figure in a tattered western suit was just appearing from amidst the trees. The figure was visibly injured. Kenshin got to his feet and ran to one of the small bridges that spanned the river and ran until he reached the form of Alanor as he staggered from the woods.

Kenshin hadn't even realized the other men were right behind him until he caught Alanor and turned to see them there. "Where are Yahiko and Tsubame?" Alanor said through the exhaustion.

"I'm here." Yahiko said coming to his side opposite Kenshin. "Tsubame is safe too, she's down by the river taking a bath."

"Good, good. At least that hasn't gone wrong. Take me to the village. I must see Kagome." Alanor struggled to stand, but was unable. Sano stepped forward, and he carried the aging wizard back toward the encampment.

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were waiting when they returned, standing with a scrawny old man and a bull with three eyes. "What happened to the old geezer?" Inuyasha said with only slight concern creeping into his voice.

"I don't know, we haven't asked him yet, we just found him." Miroku said as he laid a blanket out for Sano to lay Alanor on.

The old man hobbled over and sat down next to Alanor. "A western wizard is it? It's been a while since I've seen one of them around these parts. Come to think of it, I've never seen one around these parts."

"How do you know what he is then?" Inuyasha asked with a sneer in his voice.

"I traveled into the west once with your father. He went to fight against these wizards and to bring back some of their magic." The old man said with a distant look in his eyes.

"WHAT? You mean we're harboring one of my father's enemies?" Inuyasha said indignantly.

"I do not remember father taking on such a campaign." Sesshomaru said quietly.

"It was before either of your times. He was a brash young demon lord out to prove his might against the world."

Alanor sat up as he the old man spoke. Slowly recognition crept across his face. "I thought I remembered you. Totosai wasn't it?"

Totosai looked down at the man and actually smiled before darting behind Inuyasha. "Needless to say your father was soundly beaten back. I remember that he lost a lot of warriors to the likes of those wizards."

"You mean that these two are HIS sons?" Alanor said incredulously. "Kagome managed to bind BOTH of you?" Alanor rolled his eyes and shook his head. "My how fate can change the fortunes of the unwary."

Inuyasha growled. "If you think I'm going to let you teach Kagome you're out of your mind. I have no intention of letting you anywhere near her. If you try to hurt…" Inuyasha never got the chance to finish the sentence. Alanor waved his hand in a backhand gesture and Inuyasha crashed into a tree, back on the other side of the river.

"Other people may tolerate poor behavior from bad mouthing half demons, but I do not. I am here to accomplish my tasks and that is all. Where is Kagome?" Alanor said in annoyance.

"I like this man better with each passing moment." Sesshomaru said looking at the tree as it collapsed on top of Inuyasha.

Kenshin shook his head and turned to the old man. "I'll go get Kagome. If we're all here then there won't be anyone to protect the women."

Miroku stepped up and threw an arm around Sanosuke and Cho. "An excellent suggestion! We'll go get them immediately!"

"Not so fast." Saitoh said quietly. "My wife is among those women. I'LL go get them. That way you three won't be getting into trouble. Coming, Shinomori?"

Aoshi's shrug was about as emotionless as ever. "Sure."

The two of them set out for the river. Kenshin shook his head but had to agree. Sanosuke and Miroku made a good pair. A pair of what he wasn't sure, but a good pair none-the-less. Sending them after the women would have been like sending the wolves to find the sheep. Kenshin considered the fact that Saitoh really WAS called a wolf, but stowed it away quickly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 14.

Tae was just about done washing and some of the other ladies were starting to get out of the water when Sango returned. They had all heard the crash and Sango had bounded off to find out what was going on. Sango came leaping to the bank and stopped at the water. She hadn't bothered dressing to go investigate, after all ninja's are supposed to be accustomed to being unseen.

"Aoshi and Saitoh are coming. Inuyasha is back and got bounced off a tree by somebody and now they're apparently coming to collect us." Sango said sourly.

"I'll kill him." Tokio said hotly.

Everyone turned to regard the woman. "It isn't THAT bad Tokio." Tae said calmly. "They're still treating us like luggage, but at least it isn't Sanosuke."

"Or Miroku." Sango added with emphasis.

"You girls just don't know. Don't let yourselves be tricked by a man's outer exterior. It's the ones you can't read that bear the closest scrutiny. Hajime didn't get the nickname 'wolf' because of his ferocity. Unless I miss my guess, he'll "stumble" through some bushes at an inconvenient moment and brush it off as an accident. He'll act all stoic like he doesn't care whether we're dressed or not and then turn his back until we get out." Tokio looked ready to shoot her husband. "I swear, the man can sense a criminal behind him at thirty paces, but expects me to believe he can just 'accidentally' wander in on us bathing."

The rest of the women regarded Tokio for a moment. "I never figured him for the type." Kaoru said slowly.

A sudden thought struck Tae like a load of bricks. "Sango, you said that Aoshi was with him?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Here's our chance ladies, we're putting our plans into action. It's time these men learned a lesson in how to treat women." Tae grabbed Kamatari and started positioning women in the water.

"Kamatari, myself, Misao, and Tokio are going to stand facing the bank. The rest of you turn your backs to them. We'll act like we're having a normal bath when they get here." Tae said with a devilish smile crossing her face. "If Aoshi sees Tokio it's Saitoh's fault, I really don't care if they see me or not, and Misao and Kamatari can watch Aoshi's reaction. This will start our plan in action."

The women hastily got into position. Tae let Tsubame get dressed. She didn't have a stake in this and she could be their "look-out". The women stood around talking until finally Saitoh "stumbled" out of the bushes with Aoshi in tow. Tsubame started to squeal, but fainted instead.

Most of the women ducked into the water or covered themselves, but the damage had been done. Tae looked at Aoshi to gauge his reaction. He saw Misao and his cold calculating look never changed, he began to turn around but then his gaze fell on Kamatari. Tae had to give him credit; most of his face betrayed no emotion. His eyes however spoke volumes. They had gone slightly wider in surprise at seeing Kamatari's chest. Then he stood there, just stood there. Tae could tell he was dumbfounded, even if his face was impassive.

Saitoh must have been disappointed, but he hid it well. From what Tae knew of the man, he must have been disappointed because he was usually cross when he was disappointed. Saitoh growled when Aoshi didn't turn around.

"That's my wife out there you pervert, turn around." Saitoh growled menacingly. Tae considered his nickname apt in all respects. Aoshi's expression didn't change; he merely turned around. Saitoh gave him another good glare and then turned around himself and helped Tsubame stand. "My apologies ladies, I didn't realize how close I was to the river." His explanation would have carried more weight if Tokio hadn't been lip-syncing the words. "I'll leave Aoshi to stand guard for you, but Alanor has returned and wants to speak to Kagome."

"That's OK Saitoh, we were just getting finished." Tae said sweetly. She looked at Kamatari and Misao. Misao looked dejected and Kamatari was beaming. She just hoped the two of them could handle Aoshi from here on out. Soujiro hadn't done much to get into trouble with Misao so far, at least nothing she hadn't already punished him for, but Aoshi was going to take both of them to handle.

The ladies all got out of the water and dried themselves before getting dressed. Kagome carried some perfumes from her own time. Such things were extremely expensive in Tae's time though apparently they were common to her time. The women indulged themselves and walked past the men. Most of the plans were in motion; it was just a matter of time.

Misao walked behind Aoshi for a few minutes beside Kamatari. He hadn't said anything all the way back from the river. Which wasn't necessarily unusual, but she knew he had gotten a good look at Kamatari and surely he was curious. Misao decided to sate his curiosity for him. She moved herself and Kamatari up until they were directly behind Aoshi and whispered in her direction.

"I know you wanted to be accepted as a fighter in a man's world, but why did you do it? I mean, surely you must get lonely with everybody thinking you're a man. If we hadn't walked in on you taking a bath we'd all still think you were a man." Misao winked at Kamatari. She knew Aoshi had some of the keenest (and cutest) ears in the Oniwaban. If he couldn't hear he was going deaf.

Kamatari leaned over in a conspiratorial whisper. "You know how men are. As soon as they found out I was a woman, they would have been treating me like I was glass. This way they wouldn't try to stop me from fighting and they'd be too freaked out by my presence to expect me to do anything with them. Could you imagine all the men going down to bathe and asking me to join them?"

Misao couldn't help but let out a short giggle. "Yeah, Himura's the worst. He guards Kaoru like a precious gemstone. Pretty to look at, but you'd never dream of carrying it into battle. Fortunately, I think she likes it."

Kamatari let out a harrumph and continued walking. "Not me. If I'm going to have a man it's going to be one that doesn't try to protect me all the time. I can take care of myself. I want a partner, not a protector."

Misao nearly cried but forced herself to continue according to their plan. "Well, the only one that you'll find like that around here is Aoshi. None of the other women would have him. He's cute, but he's too cold. He got tired of taking care of me so now he's palmed the job off on Soujiro. The other women have someone to watch after them."

Kamatari grinned in spite of herself. "You mean none of the other women want him?"

"Goodness, no. He's like a fine sculpture made out of ice. Nice to look at, but not something that'll keep you warm at night. I spent a rather long time trying to warm him up a little, but it was no use. At least Soujiro has a sweet smile." Misao thought about what she was saying for a few minutes. Soujiro still used that ever-present smile of his. It was sweet, and he used it to protect his emotions by hiding them. He had learned it while his family had physically abused him. Misao thought of all the physical abuse SHE had visited on the boy and vowed not to hit him again, unless he REALLY deserved it.

The women made it all the way to the village where Alanor was already busy going through his things. "Who's been in my clothes?"

"Sorry!" Kagome shouted as she ran up to him. "I was looking for something that might help us."

It was late, so the women excused themselves to go prepare something to eat. Kagome stayed with Alanor and the other men, and Misao decided to do some eavesdropping. The men were moving to a clearing near the forest, so Misao launched herself into the trees quietly. It was there she met Sango.

The two of them weren't startled to find each other there, so they merely nodded and followed the men. The men got seated around the clearing on logs as Hiko spoke up.

"I believe you said something about an explanation. Kagome explained everything she could, but we thought you might be more able to explain everything." Hiko sat down and reached out for a jug of sake that wasn't there. "Yahiko, go get me a jug of…"

"Nothin' doin'!" Yahiko blurted defensively.

"Go or I'll have you practicing till MY arms ache." Hiko growled.

"That's fine, cause if I cross Tae she'll dress me in an apron again and I may not even get anything to eat!" Yahiko pleaded.

"Fine." Hiko mumbled. "Start swinging."

Yahiko got up and went off to start his practice. Misao couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She'd have to say something to Tae on his behalf. It wasn't fun getting caught up in other people's arguments.

"Now that the boy is gone," Hiko started, "what exactly is it that he's supposed to do. I know he's important because he and Tsubame are supposed to be the ancestors of someone important."

Alanor rummaged through his books and pulled out his orb once again. "That's pretty much all you need to know right now. I'm sorry, but I can't reveal anything about your futures."

"Why not?" Sano piped in. "You seem to know everything about us. Obviously, some of us are from times later than others so the history MUST be known."

"It isn't that simple. Knowing your future may accidentally change it so that the future you knew about doesn't happen. And I don't know the future. All I can do is compare this dimension's outcomes to other dimensions and get a general idea. It doesn't guarantee accuracy." Alanor sat down and looked at Kagome.

"However in this case I can tell you that we have a problem. Kagome's actions in this time and in the time period that you are from have caused certain problems." Alanor looked at each of the men in turn.

"I'm sorry." Kagome said meekly.

"I wouldn't blame yourself." Alanor said seriously. "Kikyo should never have burned the jewel with her body. She transferred the jewel's powers to your soul rather than the one whose destiny it was to protect it."

Alanor looked back to the men. "In short gentlemen, we have a problem. You're stuck here."

This didn't seem to cause the men any turmoil. Most of them nodded and pressed on. "I take it this is about the demon gate?" Hiko said seriously.

Alanor regarded him coldly for a long time before continuing. "In short yes. The demons that should have closed the gate have now decided to keep it open. Unless we succeed in closing this gate, your time will become overrun by demons. We have to find the gate, close it, and then Kagome will have to make certain that the gate is never reopened."

The men all nodded to themselves. "So where is this gate." Aoshi said.

"I don't know yet. I need to search for the gate and I don't know how long it'll take me to find it." Alanor looked at Kagome. "I don't think Kagome is ready for such a journey right now."

"Why not leave her here?" Hiko said. "If it means getting home quicker, I'll teach her whatever she needs to know and you can go search for the gate. Cho and Anji can go with you. We'll stay here and protect Yahiko and Tsubame."

Alanor looked skeptical. "And how do you presume to teach a young sorceress how to cast magic?"

Hiko smiled. "I'll tell you later. Right now it smells like food is ready."

Sure enough, Misao could smell the food coming from the bowls as Kamatari, Tsubame, and Tae came up to the clearing. "You men had better eat before it gets cold." Tae said as she handed out stew and rice.

Misao watched as Kamatari handed food to Aoshi, Cho, and Anji. She hadn't bothered to bind her breasts either. Cho was the first one to pick up the change. "Uh, Kamatari? What are those?" He said pointing at her chest.

"If you aren't old enough to know honey, then I'm not about to explain it." Kamatari said coyly.

"I mean; you're a man. You're not supposed to have, you know, those." Cho said defensively. Anji was looking perplexed as well. Soujiro was staring wide-eyed, which he was going to be in trouble for later, and Aoshi didn't appear to notice.

"Kamatari is really a woman. She was posing as a cross-dresser in order to come to work for Shishio as a fighter. She was bathing with the women when we went to get Kagome earlier today." Aoshi didn't miss a detail. Misao could have crowed.

Cho looked at Kamatari as if for the first time. "No way! I've seen you go to the bathroom standing up before!"

Kamatari smiled. "From behind. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with a hollow bamboo tube. It was enough to convince you guys I was a man and no more questions were asked."

"Why Kamatari?" Soujiro asked stupidly.

Kamatari rolled her eyes. "Because women don't get any sort of respect as fighters. Even a cross dresser would get more respect as a fighter because he'd be seen as a man, a weird man, but a man never-the-less. Once you guys were tricked, it was pretty simple to flirt with you enough to make you keep your distance. Shishio knew better, but I never was able to sway him away from Yumi. I guess he preferred the docile type."

Misao watched as the meal was served and the women left the men to their discussion. She looked down at Anji and Cho. They both looked startled, but Cho recovered quickly.

"To think there was a hot little number like that walking around and I didn't even know it." Cho said sadly.

Anji shook his head. "So Shinomori, are things different now?"

"What do you mean?" Aoshi didn't sound surprised, but it was rare for Misao to hear him not know what someone meant.

"You told us last night that you thought Kamatari was pleasant to be around, but that you weren't gay. You said if things were different it would be a different matter. Well, now things are different." Anji said simply.

"Two great big things are different." Cho added.

"How did she hide those things?" Soujiro asked to no one in particular.

"That had to hurt." Miroku added.

"So again, we ask you," Anji continued, "what are your intentions toward Kamatari."

"Yeah, she was our comrade before. Now I feel kind of responsible for her." Cho said seriously.

Aoshi stared at each of them in turn. "I really don't know."

"Well you men can discuss it elsewhere." Hiko said seriously. "Alanor and I have some things to discuss, so would you gentlemen please excuse us?"

Misao watched as the men got up. Aoshi helped Soujiro to his feet. "We're all going to go get baths ourselves. We can finish this discussion there."

_No finish it here you moron!_ Misao thought to herself furiously. If they left now she wouldn't be able to find out what they were going to say about Kamatari.

Misao and Sango watched as the men left Hiko and Alanor to their discussions. They had just left earshot when Hiko spoke. "You two can come down now. I'm pretty sure none of the other men noticed you, but I really would like to discuss this with Alanor alone."

Misao and Sango got out of the tree and walked back towards the cabin. Misao was pretty steamed, but she walked behind Sango and went back toward the huts where the other women waited.

Alanor looked after the retreating women. "Those women you brought are going to be a handful. Sango and Kagome aren't so bad, but those women you brought with you are a great deal more headstrong."

Hiko sniffed as he looked after them as well. "They'll be fine. In the meantime, I wanted to talk to you about our current situation."

"What of it?" Alanor asked evasively.

"Well, as I see it you've got to be in more places than you can physically be in at once. And even from what I've seen of your power so far I doubt you're going to be able to do this alone. This is going to be a great deal more difficult than you've told them isn't it?" Hiko said slowly.

Alanor looked at the man for a long time before answering. "I didn't want to scare them. You men may be some of the greatest swordsmen of your time, and those two demons Kagome has working for her are powerful, but you're all going to be severely out of your league. The demons that are gunning for that jewel are more powerful than any enemy that any of you has ever faced. I'm not certain you're ready."

"I guess we'll have to get ready then." Hiko said simply. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to find the gate. Only after I've seen what's guarding it will I be able to determine what we need to destroy it. I need to train Kagome. If I don't, she won't be ready for the charge of keeping the jewel even if we DO manage to close the gate. Finally, I need to find a way to keep the rest of you safe. If Yahiko or Tsubame dies here…"

"I know, I read it in your book." Hiko said. "Why has Kagome's destiny been erased?"

Alanor looked startled for a moment and continued. "It's pretty much standard for wizards and beings of power to have their destinies erased from history. It's difficult but not impossible. It requires a great deal of temporal distortion."

"So nothing that Kagome does will impact the future?" Hiko asked.

Alanor actually chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't read THAT much of my books at least. No, it just means that she isn't _required_ to do anything. That way she isn't hindered by being anchored to any historical events that can complicate her life."

"Complications?" Hiko asked pointedly.

"For instance," Alanor said. "How easy would it be for Kagome to accomplish the task of guarding the jewel if she were fated to die in her sleep, or to go insane, or become some larger than life historical figure? This way she can have a longer than normal life span, protect the jewel with anonymity, and not have to worry about a pathway being predetermined for her. There are only a few who MUST follow a certain path, but it still helps."

"So, how do we train her?" Hiko said nodding.

"I don't exactly see how a swordsman can train a sorceress." Alanor said critically. "I want her throwing spells not kunai."

Hiko looked at Alanor and leaned back to make sure no one was around. "I think I understand these secrets of magic better than you realize."

"Oh really? Please enlighten me then." Alanor said crossing his arms.

"Well, when a master teaches a student he often has one of the other students take part in some of the training so he doesn't have to spend all his time with his apprentice. This person is usually only there to supervise and administer lessons that the master has already designed. That and the fact that a lot of the "training" results in free labor of some sort as the pupil tries to find the meaning in the endless tasks that the master puts in front of him. Then occasionally, the master will show the student something that takes approximately ten minutes and then leaves the student to repeat it over and over until they get it right. When you get down to it if the master wished it they could probably train the pupil much quicker than the pupil realizes, but to do so would result in a lack of appreciation for the knowledge that the master had to come at the hard way himself. You see; I don't know magic. I know teaching. Truth be known, my master's muscles were so far gone when I learned from him he could barely hold a sword, much less wield one effectively, but he was still the best teacher I've ever known. That's pretty much how it works in swordplay, is there more to magic than that?" Hiko looked expectantly at Alanor.

"No that pretty much sums it up." Alanor said nodding. "Here's what you'll need to start her on…"


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 15.

Kenshin looked around at the collection of weapons along with Sango and the other men. It wasn't that he minded getting a new weapon; it was just that none of them had a reverse blade. The old man that the demons had returned with was looking the swords over as well.

"Not bad craftsmanship, but my blades are still better." Totosai sniffed. Kenshin noticed Sango giving him a cold stare.

"Yeah, but they'll have to do for now." Inuyasha said as he looked over the small trove of weapons. "This is all we could get our hands on that would be useful to us."

There were enough for all of them to have a new sword and Kenshin even picked up one for Kaoru to protect herself with. The problem was that some of their group didn't use swords. Kenshin looked at Sano and Anji, but then he realized that Misao, and Kamatari didn't use swords either.

Apparently similar things had occurred to Aoshi who spoke up. "Do you have a scythe, Totosai?"

"No, not really. I generally specialize in swords." Totosai said with his usual spaced out expression.

At this Sango sighed and pulled out a Kasari-gama. She handed it over to Aoshi. "Here Aoshi, could you please give this to Kamatari for me? I remember her mentioning that she was skilled in this form of weapon as well."

Aoshi took the weapon from her, but looked a little puzzled. "Why haven't you already given it to her?"

"I tried, but I can't bring myself to do it. It was my brother's weapon. He died when we defeated Naraku, and I can't bring myself to give it to someone knowing they'll use it. Please, just give it to her." Sango said looking down at the ground.

None of the other men spoke, but merely nodded and kept their silence. Finally, Aoshi nodded. "I will give it to her then, thank you Sango."

Sango smiled weakly and turned to leave. No one stopped her, but Kenshin could have sworn he had heard what sounded like a snicker after she was nearly out of earshot. He was certain he must have imagined it.

"I notice you didn't ask about getting that Misao girl any new kunai." Cho said with a grin that stretched all across his face.

"Of course." Aoshi said in his usual monotone, Kenshin and Hiko were probably the only ones that could read chi well enough to detect his defensiveness. "Misao doesn't need to be fighting with these demons, once Soujiro's leg heals that's going to be his job."

None of the other men seemed very convinced. Kenshin was glad when Alanor finally spoke up. "I think I might be able to help that one along. One of the things you guys are going to need is a good healer, and I'm not talking about a doctor. I'm going to teach Kagome some simple healing spells before we leave. We'll use Soujiro as a test subject."

For once everyone got to see what Soujiro looked like without his smile as it was replaced by a look of terror-stricken silence. Cho patted the boy's shoulder as if wishing a comrade well in the after life.

"There is still the matter of how Anji and I are going to be effective against these demons though." Sano piped in.

"How do you manage to fight these demons Miroku-sama?" Anji asked. Miroku appeared to be slightly stunned. He apparently wasn't accustomed to travelling with other monks.

"I use my sutras. Some demons can be harmed with normal weapons and attacks, but generally they are the weak kind that the more powerful demons send in to get slaughtered and wear down their enemies until they begin to fight themselves. If I run across a more powerful demon I pull a sutra and slap it onto them. I can then strike it with my staff and injure them." Miroku said pulling out a small strip of paper with his spells scrolled across it.

Alanor looked at the strip of cloth and considered it. "Not a very powerful spell." He remarked conversationally.

Miroku's eye was twitching and he was flexing his right hand for some reason, but his voice remained calm. "They've worked fine up until now."

"Regardless, I'll show you a better spell to use. It'll help taking down even the most potent of demons." Alanor said apparently not noticing Miroku's irritation.

"Hey wait a minute!" Sanosuke said excitedly. "Can you make one of those things out of cloth?"

"Of course, it just has to be fine linen like silk." Miroku replied. "Why do you ask?"

"That thing looks like a bandage, and Anji and I wrap our fists whenever we fight. If you can make a long silken sutra-thingy, then Anji and could wrap our fists in it and we'd be able to punch demons." Sano said in a rush.

Kenshin smiled. Sano usually didn't get many ideas, but when he did they were generally good ones. The rest of the men looked duly impressed, except Saitoh of course.

"Moron." Saitoh said in disgust.

"Why do you say that? It'll probably work." Alanor said quizzically.

"No reason. I just don't want him to think that just because he had one good idea that he isn't a moron." Saitoh said conversationally as he struck up a cigarette.

Kenshin headed off the argument by changing the subject. "Master Totosai, can you make my own reverse blade sword powerful enough to stop a demon."

Saitoh snorted. "Don't tell me you plan on keeping that oath of yours not to kill even against demons!"

"No Saitoh, demons are pure evil and should be destroyed. I just don't want to carry a sword that can also be used to hurt people." Kenshin said as he suddenly felt a sharp pain coming from the back of his head and grass had suddenly managed to grow up in front of him.

Kenshin looked up to see Sesshomaru standing over him with a face that looked like it could match Aoshi in a staring contest and for once Inuyasha was the one looking on in approval. "Present company excluded of course." Kenshin said shakily.

"Don't kid yourself." Sesshomaru said haughtily. "If not for the miko's spell, I would have already killed you all and been gone."

"Then I'll get her to release you." Inuyasha said sneering.

Sesshomaru looked around to the rest of them. "Actually, I'm beginning to enjoy watching you get planted to the earth were you belong on a regular basis. That and I'm wondering exactly what demon is behind this myself."

Kenshin dusted himself off and studied Sesshomaru. Truth be told he probably wasn't any more evil than Saitoh, which wasn't saying much. However Kenshin had a problem believing that a man who traveled in the company of a little girl and looked after her was as evil as he claimed to be.

"Well then if the pleasantries are over with, I'll leave you men to your tasks. While I'm gone I'm leaving Hiko in charge of your little army and also in charge of teaching Kagome. He's proven himself to be quite… adept, in the ways of magic." Alanor said smirking.

Kenshin looked dubious, and Inuyasha was fit to be tied. "What makes you think we're going to follow some human into battle old man."

Alanor was about to plant Inuyasha into another tree when Hiko put a hand on his shoulder. "Because I am Kagome's new teacher and if I tell her to she'll pound you so far into the ground you'll come out on the other side. I also intend to start teaching you how to use that ridiculous looking thing you call a sword. I am also Kenshin's master, and since he's beaten just about all the rest of you men before it would stand to reason that such a thing puts me in the top rank among you. Unless someone wants to challenge me for the position." Hiko said smiling as his hand drifted down to the new sword he had at his hip that was fully capable of skewering even the two demons. Kenshin also noticed he was wearing a second sword, which was odd since the Hiten Mitsarugi style only used one.

Kenshin also noticed that none of the other men jumped at the chance to challenge him for the title so everything had been settled.

"Fine then. Anji, I'll make your sutra wrappings for your fists. You and Cho will accompany me on my way to find the demon gate. It might help to have an actual demon with us so Sesshomaru can come with us as well. Totosai, you can make kunai for Misao and work on getting Kenshin's sword enchanted. Hiko, you and Miroku start teaching Kagome what you can. See if you can find that little toad Jaken as well, he might know a thing or two. You might also want to start training Inuyasha how to use a sword properly, that seems to be what got this whole mess started anyway." Inuyasha started to argue but was suddenly thrust face first into the ground thanks to a fist to the back of the head from his brother Sesshomaru.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru." Alanor said barely glancing in their direction.

"Anytime."

"If there's anything else that's needs doing you men and Hiko can get by well enough on your own. In the mean time, let's get Soujiro over to Kagome and we can get everything going." Alanor said looping an arm around Soujiro's shoulders and practically dragging him off to Kagome.

Kenshin had other things to do, but he was really interested in the powers Kagome possessed. He noticed most of the other men tagged along as well showing some 'casual' interest.

Alanor stalked over to where some of the women were sitting around outside the hut. Kagome stood up as Alanor came closer. The rest of the women really didn't know what to make of the old man so they generally avoided him. "It's time for your first lesson Higurashi."

Kagome followed Alanor meekly to a clearing just outside the village. Kenshin watched as Alanor had Soujiro laid out in the grass. He then knelt and had Kagome to kneel on the other side of him. Soujiro somehow managed to keep his smile on his face, as he looked toward Misao with a 'Please save me' expression.

Kenshin felt for the boy, but this should make him well. Alanor took on a tone of an educator as he demonstrated. "The trick to healing is that you have to imagine what the effected area _should_ look like instead of how it appears. You then focus and apply your will and spiritual energy into forcing what you envision into becoming reality."

"Just like at the well?" Kagome asked seriously.

"Somewhat, but in this case you actually have to focus the energy yourself instead of merely manipulating energy that already exists within the well. This will be much harder. It is much easier to simply guide a pre-existing energy where you want it to go than it is to actually expend the energy yourself. You also need to have a very clear vision of what it should look like. You should start on people you know, and you should never attempt internal healings unless you have a comprehensive knowledge of human anatomy. You should ask Megumi and Kaede to show you those things before you EVER attempt an internal healing." Alanor said seriously. "Better for you now to stick to minor cuts and bruises and work your way up from there. Now please observe."

Alanor pulled up Soujiro's clothes to expose the broken leg. It had plenty of cuts and plenty of bruises. Alanor gently placed his palm over the area of Soujiro's break. "Now you have to place your hand over the effected area and wipe over it. This makes the transition easier to envision and helps to soothe the patient as there is some pain involved."

Soujiro sat bolt upright only to have his forehead collide with Alanor's hand, which pushed him straight back down. Alanor looked at the wound, closed his eyes, and then moved his hand gently down Soujiro's leg. Soujiro flinched a little, but otherwise he seemed pleased with the result.

"There's still cuts and bruises." Hiko pointed out.

"Yes, I know. Kagome, please try to heal these minor cuts and bruises for me." Alanor said moving out of the way.

Kagome nodded and put her hand on Soujiro's leg. Soujiro had apparently leaned back and was getting over the shock of being worked on magically when Kenshin saw his face contort into a mask of extreme agony.

"No Kagome, you're imagining the wound as it should be trying to heal. That's very painful; only imagine what it should look like in its pristine state. Now try again, this time try not to scar him." Alanor scolded.

Soujiro looked ready to whimper as Kagome tried again. This time however it only stung a little as Soujiro barely flinched. His leg looked as if no damage had ever been done to it.

"You'll get plenty of practice with that trick, when I start training Inuyasha." Hiko said smiling.

"That's a relief. I know how Inuyasha's body is supposed to look pretty well." Kagome said happily. The rest of the men were laughing before she realized how she'd said it and started blushing furiously. Even Inuyasha looked embarrassed, but he hid it well.

"I'm a demon I heal plenty fast on my own remember. Besides, you're the one who's going to need a healer old man." Inuyasha said moodily.

"We'll see. Regardless, Kagome will need the practice so I want you to come watch Inuyasha and I train, and be ready to heal whatever I do to him. You can study Miroku's sutras until you're needed." Hiko said seriously.

"There is one other thing, Alanor-sama." Kagome said slowly.

"Yes?"

"I still haven't told my family what I'm doing yet. I'll need to go and let them know and I'll also need to get a few things from my time." Kagome said quietly.

"Impossible I'm afraid. The timeline has been corrupted from this time forward. If you attempt any more travel it will land you in deep water." Alanor said sternly.

Kagome was nodding, but she didn't look very happy about the matter.

"Well then we're off. You men take care of things here and I'll be back as soon as I can."

The rest of the afternoon passed as the ladies seemed to be preparing meals and discussing something amongst themselves, and the men thought about where to go from there.

"It's decided then." Hiko was saying. "We can't stay here as it might endanger the villagers and Tokyo of the future so we must find someplace else to stay."

"I suggest Sango's village." Miroku was saying. "It's well defended, abandoned, and it's remote. Most of the demons who know of its location are dead now so we should be able to set up a permanent camp there without being disturbed."

The men discussed the option to themselves and since no one had any better ideas it was decided. "Excellent, we'll start for her village in the morning. Kenshin, you go inform the women." Hiko said finally.

Kenshin nodded and went towards the women who were happily talking around Kaede's hut. The strange thing was that the conversation died as Kenshin approached. They appeared to be talking about Kamatari's new weapon. Kenshin then remembered he was carrying a weapon for Kaoru.

"I almost forgot, Kaoru-do… I mean Kaoru. Here, I got this sword from among the swords Sango brought and I thought you might be able to use it." Kenshin said as he walked over to Kaoru.

Kaoru took the blade and stared at it for a moment before turning to where Yahiko was busy helping Tsubame put rice balls on a tray. "Yahiko come here."

Yahiko padded over quietly, for once, before Kaoru handed him the sword. The boy's eyes lit up as he slipped it over onto his back. Kenshin was dumbfounded.

"I won't be needing a sword, Kenshin. As long as you're here to protect me." Kaoru said as she put her head on Kenshin's shoulder. Kenshin was stunned speechless, but Yahiko simply rolled his eyes and trotted off to finish helping Tsubame.

"Was there something you wanted to tell me Kenshin?" Kaoru said sweetly. Kenshin definitely didn't understand women. "Uh, Master Hiko sent me to tell you we decided to go to Sango's village tomorrow to keep from getting anyone here hurt when the demons come."

Tae stood up from where she was cooking. "Oh he did, did he? Did that man ever stop to think that maybe we were perfectly happy right where we are? I'm not going anywhere that arrogant, sake-swilling, blow-hard says."

Kenshin quickly looked around and saw that the rest of the women were all looking at him and frowning even Kaoru. Apparently they had different ideas. This was all very strange and to mention it they had been acting strangely all day long. They had been constantly running up to him and asking his opinion about everything. Along the same line, Sano had been trying to get some time alone with Megumi to talk, but every time he did one of the women would come running up with something else they had needed help with and dragged him away. Even now Sano was resting by the fire after a pretty rough day of work. Kenshin DEFINTELY didn't understand women.

"But, Ms. Tae, we'll be safer there. Sango's village is easier to defend." Kenshin said desperately pleading.

"Well then Sir Ken, if you think it's best I guess it'll have to be fine with us too." Tae said quickly. Kenshin looked around and all the frowns had been replaced by smiling faces and Kaoru was beaming at him. Kenshin DEFINTELY didn't understand women, especially Kaoru.

"Uh O.K., I'll just tell the other men then…"

Tae watched Kenshin head back to the men as Yahiko and Tsubame followed after to serve the food.

"Well, I guess things are going according to plan. Everybody remember,

Nobody gives Aoshi the time of day except Kamatari.

Nobody listens to Hiko.

Everybody follow Kenshin like he was some sort of leader.

Work Sano to death, and don't let him get Megumi alone.

Everybody try to let Inuyasha hear you tell Kagome how much nicer Kouga is.

Everybody try to make Miroku jealous of Saitoh.

Encourage Soujiro and Yahiko.

Is everybody straight so far?" Tae asked finally.

The women all nodded.

"Thank you for giving this to me, Sango." Kamatari said gratefully.

"Don't mention it. It's like I told you, Kohaku would have wanted it to be useful to someone. You should have seen the look on the men's faces when I gave it to Aoshi. They all made a big deal out of it as if all my emotional attachments to my brother were tied to his weapon. I had to leave before I broke out laughing."

"That's typical male thinking for you." Megumi said off-handedly.

"I'm just glad they managed to decide on going to my village." Sango said seriously.

"Yes, men can be pretty hard to steer once they get their mind on a thing." Tokio was saying. "My Saitoh is starting to get to the age when back aches are a major issue and he thinks he's going to fight a man ten years younger than he is. That man is a policeman, has fought beside Kenshin, and even gone to his house for a party, and he STILL thinks he's going to someday manage to get into a fight to the death with him."

All the women nodded at the general denseness of the male species and then prepared for the night. It was going to be a long trek tomorrow, so they had better rest.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 16.

The trip had been arduous, and Misao thought she could have been mistaken, but Aoshi seemed to be growing more and more restless as they neared their destination. When the wooden palisade finally came into view he was practically fidgeting, which for Aoshi constituted looking around and shaking his head in disbelief.

"Sango, you say this was YOUR village?" Aoshi asked in almost disbelief.

"Yes, my family and the other demon slayers have lived here for generations." Sango said with pride. "Why is something the matter?"

"I know this place." Aoshi said simply.

Everyone turned to look at Aoshi. Misao couldn't imagine how Aoshi could know something about a village that existed several hundred years before he was born.

"How can this be, Aoshi-san?" Miroku was asking. "You are from a different time. Are you saying this place exists in your era as well?"

"Yes, it is the Oniwaban base camp. It is the training ground where Okina and I were trained. All of the Oniwaban have made a trip here for training at some point. It is rumored that this village existed for centuries before the Shogunate and that it was the birthplace of the Oniwaban ninjas." Aoshi was saying seriously. He turned to look at Sango. "Your people may have been one of the predecessors of the modern Oniwaban group."

Misao thought back to watching Sango fight. It was true, her style of fighting was indeed similar to her own. The idea though that she might be one of their ancestors was almost ridiculous.

"Surely you can't be serious Aoshi." Sango was saying.

Hiko however was nodding. "It may very well be. Alanor left those books of his. Why don't we look in them and see if there is a link between you. We need to make certain that we won't be altering anything by staying here."

"I thought Alanor said we weren't supposed to go looking into our futures." Aoshi said coldly.

"WE aren't. Since my new apprentice is from a time much further in the future than any of us she is going to look at them so that it doesn't disturb anything. For her, it's already history. Anyway, I'm not intending to look directly into the future. Alanor said he could look at how history worked out in other dimensions, if we can look at those as an example we might have an idea of what we're doing." Hiko said looking around the village. "It appears everything is in order with the village. We'll need to start gathering food to keep us since we don't know how long we're going to have to be here. Aside from that I suggest we all get together tonight around a good fire and have a good old fashioned fortune telling."

Misao was a bundle of nerves for the rest of the day. Even to see a shadow of the future was a thrill. She had to admit she liked going to see the fortunetellers, but she had always believed that it was all some sort of hoax. This was going to be the real thing.

Dinner that night consisted of a double portion of their remaining food that had been brought with them. Since the men were getting ready to get more food it was safe to splurge a little on a feast. Everyone was settling down around the fire and Tae had even let Hiko have some sake. Everyone was chatting happily, but everyone's eyes would eventually stray to Kagome.

Finally, Hiko brought everyone to order and looked over at Kagome. Misao settled down next to Soujiro and hoped she wasn't going to be disappointed.

Kagome, who had been studying from the book, pulled out the little orb that Alanor had packed with it and placed it over the open pages. The lights within began to dance and it floated before her as she looked at it.

"Hiko-sama, what is it I'm supposed to be looking for?" Kagome asked.

"Look for a connection between Sango and Misao and Aoshi. We need to know if they are relations. It should be the same as when you looked for the information about the villagers back in the village, only this time we need more detail." Hiko said looking around at the small gathering.

Kagome opened the book and Misao could see Sango's image on the page in front of her. Kagome looked at the orb and then quickly pulled her eyes away. "I can't do this." She said shortly.

"What's wrong Kagome?" Sango said reassuringly.

"I'm seeing you grow old and die. Some of the scenes are pretty violent." Kagome said looking down.

"I'm sure they will be." Hiko said managing to sound sympathetic. "Remember though that these are only things that have happened in other dimensions and that this is no guarantee of how this dimension should be. We are still free beings with the ability to choose our own destinies. We simply need to be aware of any pitfalls."

Kagome nodded and went back to watching the orb. Misao could see her flinch occasionally. She did not envy her the task of seeing what was in that orb. When she was finally done she looked haunted and looked around at everyone else there. One by one she looked into the orb after turning to everyone's page. It took quite a while.

"So Kagome, is there anything we need to be made aware of?" Hiko asked.

"It's hard to say, but in the majority of scenarios that get played out there is some connection that flows from Sango to Aoshi and Misao. She is not their descendant, but her descendants do teach their descendants their martial arts styles." Kagome said meekly.

"My descendants?" Sango said quietly. "You mean that I will have children?"

Miroku seemed to perk up at this and was grinning as if he were getting ready to say something perverted, but a look from Kagome brought him up short. She looked disturbed and everyone could see it.

"Well, I suppose that we should all retire to our huts then." Hiko was saying to no one in particular. "Now that we know this we need to make sure Sango keeps safe. It might change our own history."

Aoshi looked at Kagome and said something that shocked every one. "Are any of us YOUR ancestors Kagome?"

Kagome looked a little startled, but nodded. "I can't tell you who, but yes one of you is my ancestor."

Tae was the next to speak. "Kagome, honey you look shaken. Come with us." Tae gathered up Kagome and managed a scathing look at Hiko. "We ladies are going to go comfort Kagome. This has obviously been a trial for her, you men stay out here tonight and keep an eye out."

Some of the men looked like they might argue, but Hiko shook his head at them. "You are right. I'm sorry Kagome, we had to know."

Misao got up and went into the largest hut with the rest of the women. She moved up beside Sango as they closed the doors to make sure the men weren't listening in. "I guess you're the beginning of our clan of ninjas. She said seriously."

"I guess I'm doomed." Sango said miserably. "I know Miroku is more than likely going to be the father of my children. I guess it means I'm just going to have to suffer his womanizing."

"He won't." Kagome said near to tears.

"What?" Sango said wide-eyed. "I thought you said seeing the future couldn't be that exact."

"In most cases it isn't. However, in some ways the future will always be the same. It was horrible, Sango." Kagome said breaking into tears as she hugged her friends close. All the women gathered around as Kagome sat down amongst them.

"I had to watch you die a hundred times over. Disease, demons, old age, it was all in their. I even saw you burned alive in one of the dimensions." Kagome said crying.

Sango hugged Kagome close and tried to comfort her. "It's OK Kagome. Nothing is ever certain. I could have died any number of times while we were traveling together. Nothing has changed. We live with the possibility of dying every day."

Kagome finally managed to regain her composure. "I can tell you one thing though. In all the times I watched you marry Miroku and bear his children, I never saw him be unfaithful. Even after you died, he would sit by your grave and waste away until he joined you. He loves you Sango, more deeply than anything I've ever seen. His eyes might wander, but he never betrayed your trust in him."

Misao looked at Sango with a bit of envy. That type of love was hard to come by and it was usually only born out of adversity. She had to admit she was a little jealous.

"Thank you Kagome, you don't have to say anything else about my future." Sango said trying to soothe her friends frayed nerves. Everyone could see that a sense of peace had fallen over Sango though.

"No Sango, please. It helps to talk about the good things. That way I can try to forget all the terrible things I saw." Kagome said shakily.

Kagome looked to the rest of the women. Misao was ashamed to say it, but the rest of them were burning to know what she had to say too. None of them wanted to admit it though.

Finally, Kagome smiled. "It was strange. In other dimensions some of you end up loving different men, some more than others."

Megumi chirped in to try to lighten the mood at Kaoru's expense. "So did I ever steal Ken-san from the raccoon?" Megumi said casually.

Kagome looked a little pained, which was usually a good sign that she was about to be honest and brutal. "No, actually. Very rarely do you end up with Kenshin."

Megumi was obviously hurt. She hid it well though. "Great, so she gets the swordsman and I end up with a rooster."

"Actually, in most cases you never marry." Kagome says sadly. "There are a few dimensions in which you and Sanosuke fall in love, and you are pretty happy too, but in most he ends up heading off to Mongolia and you go back to Aizu."

Misao could tell Megumi didn't really like that idea, but she held her peace. "So what about Kaoru and Kenshin?"

Kagome looked even sadder. "In most cases, Kaoru ends up marrying Kenshin. Sometimes it's a happy marriage, and sometimes it isn't. Kenshin seems to die young in a lot of the dimensions, and occasionally Kaoru dies with him in his arms either by plague or…" Kagome stopped looking over at Kaoru. "I'm sorry I've said too much."

Kaoru had a distant look in her eyes and Misao couldn't really tell what she was thinking. "I've considered that as much myself." Kaoru said finally. "If I were to die, I'd want it to be with Kenshin. No matter how soon or late in life it comes. Tell me, do we have children?" Kaoru asked finally.

"Yes, in most cases you have a son. I must warn you though, that you'll be happier if it is a daughter. A son will tend to grow up in opposition to Kenshin while daughters will tend to bring happiness to your family."

Kaoru actually smiled. "I will look forward to it then. You said 'most of the time', is there someone else I tend to marry?"

Kagome actually blushed. "It's a bit hard to explain. For some reason men are drawn to you Kaoru, don't ask me why. I saw dimensions were you ended up marrying any number of men; Soujiro, Sano, I even saw one with you marrying Saitoh. Though I must admit these were very rare cases."

"Thankfully." Kaoru said blushing. Misao noticed most of the women were giving her pretty distrustful looks now.

Tokio was next to speak. "Saitoh doesn't kill Kenshin does he?"

Kagome actually smiled. "You'll be pleased to know that Saitoh's future is pretty well locked in from this point on. Get ready for old age, and expect grandchildren from your adopted son soon, he's going to be getting interested in girls early. You've nothing else to worry about. Saitoh never gets the chance to challenge Kenshin, and you don't have to worry about Sano either."

Tokio looked rather dumbfounded. "Why would I be worried about Sano?"

Kagome's face immediately went white and then started blushing furiously. "Saitoh never has been much of a lady's man has he?" Kagome said slowly. "If he hadn't met you and become your husband it is exceedingly rare that any other woman has anything to do with him."

Tokio nodded. "I can see that, no other woman would have him, but what has that got to do with Sano?"

"Weeeellllll," Kagome said slowly, "if it weren't for you, he would have been driven to homosexuality by this point in his life, and I saw a few cases of him and Sano…"

The roar of laughter from all the women was deafening. The very idea sent them all into all out laughter. No one was surprised to see Soujiro come running in to make sure everything was OK. He stood there for a few moments until Misao finally caught her breath.

"Everything's OK Sou-chan, Tokio just told us the most thrilling joke to try to cheer up Kagome." Misao said with tears in her eyes. Tokio was still rolling on the floor pounding it for all she was worth. Megumi was right beside her.

"That would explain the animosity between the two of them." Megumi said laughing still.

Soujiro looked confused, but just nodded and let himself out.

After everyone quieted down Kagome turned to Kamatari. "Would you like to know anything?"

"No, I think I'm going to opt for the thrill of discovery. Most of you are pretty settled in your relationships while I'm just starting to embark on mine." Kamatari said uneasily.

Kagome was actually smiling. "Suit yourself, I didn't see that much anyway. You'll be in pretty uncertain waters anyway."

"What about Misao, Kagome?" Kaoru said looking over at Misao.

Misao felt butterflies rise in her stomach. She hadn't really had the courage to ask, but now she was committed.

Kagome's expression turned grave. "You've already crossed a few hurdles, but a lot still remains. In many of the outcomes you ended up finally seducing Aoshi, but it occasionally didn't happen when you met Soujiro. Misao, I feel like I need to tell you this, it won't change the future much and it will make you happier in the long run. Be very careful about having children. In some of the cases I saw, you died in childbirth. The end result was that Aoshi tended to blame Soujiro and then they ended up killing each other in battle or else having a lot of animosity between them. I don't think that they will have much animosity between them in this dimension, but please make sure you have someone there with you when you have your first child."

Misao looked down. The temperature in the room had apparently dropped because she was shivering. "So Soujiro loves me?"

"Yes he does, and so does Aoshi after a fashion. Aoshi's love is more that of a brother or even a father. I see strife between him and Soujiro if anything should happen to you."

Misao bounced back immediately and was putting on her perkiest face for the rest of them. "Well, I guess I get to beat on Soujiro then." She said smiling. The other women were smiling too, but Misao could tell she didn't have them fooled much with her outer guise. She simply wasn't as good at disguising her emotions like Soujiro or Aoshi. "Well, we know what's in store for Tsubame." Misao said brightly, which caused Tsubame to blush harder than normal. "How about Tae."

Tae started to object, but Kagome only smiled. "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything."

"Why not?" Misao asked sincerely. The other women looked disappointed too.

"I never saw Tae with any men, and I hate to say it but she only met Hiko because of my interference. According to what I've seen, if it hadn't been for my meddling, she and Hiko would have never met."

"And what makes you think I'd be interested in what role that drunken jerk might have in my future?" Tae said haughtily. The rest of the women were already grinning though. Hiko might be older, but he had a powerful frame and dashing good looks. Misao also heard Tae kept paintings of handsome swordsmen. She'd be surprised to find that there were a few of Hiko around the Aoiya in the hands of her more amorous sister ninjas.

There was one last question everyone was dying to ask, but no on really knew how to ask it. Finally, it was Tsubame who blurted it out. "Who is your ancestor, Kagome?"

Kagome sighed and looked around the room. "I can't really tell you except to say it isn't Sango. One of you ladies here is my great great grandmother. I can't say who, but now that I've seen it I can scarcely believe it. I have a picture of that person in my home in the future. It is a very old photograph of her holding my grandfather."

"So one of our grandchildren, is going to be your grandfather?" Kaoru was saying nervously.

Kagome was nodding quietly. The rest of the women looked around at each other wondering who it could be. Misao couldn't help but think about Soujiro. For it to be her that meant she would have to bear Soujiro children. It wasn't an unpleasant thought.

"Well, I think that's all for me tonight. You girls try to keep warm." Tokio said as she stood up. "Someone needs to go guard Hajime's masculinity."

The rest of the women broke out into new fits of laughter, blushing, or in Tsubame's case fainting. Misao laughed as best she could and resolved to get started on Soujiro the very next day. For better or for worse, her path was chosen now. "Sango, can I ask you something…"


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 17.

It had been a rough day, and Soujiro was looking forward to getting some sleep. However, right now the only thing on his mind was a nice bath. "Aoshi-sama, since you're familiar with the terrain around here, is there a place where I might go to get a good bath."

The rest of the men looked at Soujiro and he noticed some of them rolling their eyes. Soujiro was a little less manly than some of them tended to be, which meant he generally stunk less and was normally more polite.

"Yes, there's a hot spring just outside the walls and down at the bottom of the hill. Follow the path there northward and you'll find the spring." Aoshi said in his non-committal monotone.

Soujiro bowed and excused himself while the rest of the men got ready to stretch out on the ground. They were going to start getting the defenses ready the next day and Soujiro doubted he would have time for a decent bath. Soujiro grabbed up a lantern and headed out into the night.

The spring turned out to be right where Aoshi had said it would be, so Soujiro shed his clothes and got into the water. Unfortunately, he splashed some water that put his lantern out. "Oh man, finding my way back in the dark is going to be fun."

Soujiro sighed and settled back into the water. At least that was a problem for later. Right now he was letting his muscles unwind. Soujiro must have dozed off, because it wasn't until he heard the splash that he sat up.

Light poured across the water and Soujiro looked up to see Misao waist deep in the water and topless. His sharp breath caught her attention and their eyes locked for a moment before…

Everyone came running out of their huts when they heard Misao scream. Sango came running out half dressed as the men sat bolt upright. "Hurry she's down at the hot spring!"

"She's where?" Aoshi said visibly relaxing.

"She went for a bath at the hot spring." Sango said watching the men. A few of them started to smirk as they started to settle back into their blankets. "Aren't you going to go help her?"

Aoshi was as emotionless as ever, but his tone actually seemed amused. "I told Soujiro about the same spring. Apparently they've just discovered each other."

Sango's blush was pretty large and she could see Miroku leering at her with some of his perverted thoughts etched all over his face. She sent him a 'forget it' look and headed back to the women's hut. If it was one thing Misao didn't need protection from it was Soujiro. Soujiro on the other hand…

Soujiro squinted his eyes and hunched his shoulders waiting for the rock he'd seen her grab. He was dead. There was no hope. He'd seen her naked and now he was about to get clobbered. Soujiro sweated waiting for the coming blow, but it never came.

"You can open your eyes now Sou-chan." Misao said softly nearby.

Soujiro slowly opened his eyes to the darkness around him. Misao's lantern was out and he could hear some light splashing near him. The clouds covered the moon, so he was pretty much blind.

"You're not going to hit me?" Soujiro said, unsure of himself. Maybe she had already hit him so hard he was dead and now his soul had finally descended into hell. Soujiro then felt Misao's hand on his shoulder… nope, definitely not hell.

"No Sou-chan. I'm sorry I screamed. You startled me. Apparently you were already here at the spring when I got here." Misao said somewhere off to his right.

"I'm sorry Misao. My lantern went out and I must have fallen asleep. I didn't mean to spy on you. I'll leave." Soujiro started desperately.

Misao's hand went from his shoulder to his lips, DEFINITELY not hell. "I know. It's alright you don't have to go."

Soujiro was getting more confused by the moment. "I don't?"

Misao chuckled to herself and Soujiro could just make out her silhouette. "It's not like we can see each other, and you'll need help getting back. I have a flint in my pocket. I'll use it to light your lantern once we're done bathing."

Soujiro was glad for the darkness, because he was quite certain he was blushing right now. "Misao?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you hit me?" Soujiro was surprised to be asking the question, but he distinctly remembered seeing her lift up the rock. Actually he'd been looking at some other things that had presented themselves and the rock got processed as an afterthought, but he really didn't want to test her good nature.

Soujiro got up and waded a little further into the spring waiting for her reply. Misao was quiet for a long time, and Soujiro started to apologize for the question when she finally spoke. "Can I ask you a question first?"

"Certainly."

"All the times I've beaten up on you, you've never raised a hand to stop me. Sou-chan, I know you're a powerful swordsman. Even if you didn't want to hit me back, or to hurt me, you still could have easily avoided any attack I could possibly make at you. Why?" Misao said from the darkness. Soujiro got the distinct impression she was looking at him as if to try to look into his eyes.

"You are so pure Misao." Soujiro said honestly. "I am so stained from my past deeds, that anything you might decide to do to me, I deserve. Besides, it is not within you to truly harm anyone. I trust you, even with my life."

Soujiro waited to hear Misao's response. He hoped he hadn't sounded too lame. "The reason I didn't hit you Soujiro is because it wasn't your fault. You've been hurt by everyone that you've ever cared about. I don't want to be like the other people that have hurt you in the past Soujiro. It's time for your hurting to end."

Soujiro was touched as he thought he could hear the soft whimper of Misao crying. As she too waded further into the spring. "I'm sorry, if I've ever hurt you Sou-chan."

Soujiro was fit to burst. "Misao I'm unworthy of such consideration."

Misao then did something that shocked Soujiro. She hugged him. Soujiro could feel her next to him and he almost passed out. That's it, she did hit me and somehow beyond all reason or hope I've managed to get into heaven.

"Sou-chan if I hadn't vowed never to hit you again, I'd smack you. You said that whatever I decided to do to you, you deserved. Well Sou-chan this is what I think you deserve." Soujiro didn't have time to think before the kiss took away his senses.

He stood there in the water with Misao in his arms and kissed her. It was his first kiss and most likely hers as well. Soujiro couldn't think of a more wonderful thing in his life than that one moment as the clouds parted and he looked into Misao's eyes in the moonlight as their lips parted. The water reflected the light and lit the pool around them. Remembering to be a gentleman, Soujiro closed his eyes.

Misao giggled, and then he felt her move away for a moment. "It's OK Sou-chan you can look now."

Soujiro slowly opened his eyes expecting the return of the clouds and a return to darkness. Instead the light still shone all around the two of them and Misao was once again before him as radiant in the moonlight as his fevered imagination could have ever hoped for.

Soujiro was dumbstruck and started to speak, when Misao put her hand over his mouth again. "I trust you with my life too Sou-chan. Besides, it's hard to bathe with your eyes closed." Misao said putting some soap and a small towel in his hand. She smiled as she turned her back to him. "I'll wash your back if you wash mine."

Hiko couldn't sleep. He hadn't slept well in days. People thought that swordsmen were light sleepers because of their finely tuned senses. Swordsmen generally promoted this idea because it made assassins think twice. The truth was, there were things that waited for you after you closed your eyes, as his apprentice had found out the hard way.

Hiko had spent many years using the sake to help him sleep dreamlessly. He figured the only swordsmen who DID get a good night's sleep were either drunk, or heartless.

However it wasn't for this reason he was still awake when the two of them returned. Soujiro and Misao came sneaking back into the village and killed their lantern as they did so. Even so, Hiko could see them holding hands. They stopped briefly before they parted company and they kissed goodnight. Hiko smirked and rolled over. Maybe now that the last two kittens had made their way back home maybe he could finally rest. He might have to go look at this hot spring himself tomorrow.

Hiko was the first awake the next morning. He looked around at the other men beginning to stir. Sadly he could already smell something cooking, so Tae was probably already up. "I swear that woman must not sleep at all." He said groggily.

The other men didn't look like they'd had much sleep. Soujiro didn't look like he managed to sleep at all, but Hiko surmised it was from a different reason than the usual. Saitoh was the only one who looked well-rested, big surprise.

"Sleep well, Saitoh?" Hiko asked.

"Like a stone. Best sleep I've had in years." Saitoh said getting a lung full of the morning air. "The air is so much cleaner here in the past."

Hiko just shook his head and looked around for Yahiko. "Boy, get me something to drink."

Tae's voice rang out all over the encampment. "Don't you go giving him any more sake!"

"How does she bloody DO that?" Hiko said to no one in particular.

"It isn't that hard master, it's been the first words out of your mouth every morning since she cut you off." Kenshin said smiling.

"Very funny, why don't YOU give me three hundred swings then." Hiko said irritably.

"Master, I haven't done swings for you in years." Kenshin said dryly.

"Then you're bound to be out of practice. Now get started, or I'll have Yahiko supervise you." Hiko said testily.

The rest of the morning went pretty well, with Hiko splitting his time between supervising Kagome and keeping an eye on getting the defenses in place. Some of the other men had begun hunting and foraging for food. By the end of the day the place was starting to look like a real village. Lessons in swordplay had resumed as well as Hiko took over training Inuyasha and Yahiko as well. Hiko had to admit; it was the busiest he'd been in years. Part of him relished the thrill of being at the center of something big. It beat sitting around watching pottery bake at any rate.

There was only one thing that would make his life complete right now… sake. Hiko thought about this as he excused himself after dinner to scout around. It didn't take long before he found the hut with the sake stored in it. The doctor woman Megumi was apparently standing guard over it so Hiko slipped away without being seen. He could return later.

Hiko got back to the campfire to see an argument breaking out. "And I said we are not going to stay cooped up in that hut another night! Women want their privacy, and having us all stuffed into one big hut isn't very pleasant. It may be the biggest hut in the village, but there are too many women in there." Tae was saying to an unfazed Aoshi.

"Here, you can argue your case with Hiko-sama then." Aoshi said calmly to the flustered woman.

_Oh no. Please not now._ Hiko thought to himself as he walked into the firelight. "What seems to be the problem."

"The problem, Hiko-_sama_," Tae said stressing the last word, "is that the women would like to split up into the various huts around here and have some privacy tonight instead of being cooped up all together. However your _men_," again with the inflections, "don't seem to understand that a lady needs some space."

"We decided that the women weren't going to be left alone. As long as you're in the same hut it doesn't take all of us to guard you. There are still demons after us so I'm sorry, nobody stays alone." Hiko said defiantly.

Tae was about ready to argue when Kenshin stepped between the two of them. "Now Ms. Tae we're only doing this for the safety of everyone. Please I'm sure that we can come to some sort of agreement." Hiko was about to agree to put the stubborn woman over his knee when she suddenly shifted her tone.

"Why Sir Ken, that sounds like a wonderful idea. Tokio stays with her husband in a hut I guess some of the ladies who have men willing to stay with them could move out and make more room for the rest of us." Tae said sweetly. From the look on Kenshin's face he was as dumbfounded as Hiko was.

"Fine." Hiko said finally. "As long as no one is left alone."

The women all seemed to be happy and Hiko settled down to wait. Pretty soon everyone would be asleep…

Kamatari looked around the little hut she had picked out for herself. It was a quaint little rustic thing that could have done with a few more modern conveniences, but other than that it was quite comfortable. She looked around one last time before she turned to go get her things. Aoshi was in the door to her hut.

"Hello Aoshi, is there something you need?" Kamatari said calmly.

"No one is supposed to be alone tonight. I plan on staying with you." Aoshi said calmly.

Kamatari nearly smirked. "I don't think I need protection like the other women Aoshi. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself." Kamatari said as she turned to put some wood in the fireplace and get a fire started before she left.

Kamatari gasped as she felt Aoshi's hands touch her arms and felt his chest against her back. She hadn't even heard him move. "It isn't protection I'm offering. I don't want to be alone tonight. I was hoping you were tired of being alone as well."

Kamatari was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. She was never realized how much taller Aoshi was than she until he turned her around and kissed her. She drank in the kiss and could have easily fallen to the floor in his arms right there until painful reason took over.

Kamatari pushed Aoshi away and ran from the hut. She ran straight for the women's hut and inside where she found Kagome with Misao.

"Kagome! Aoshi just kissed me!" Kamatari nearly screamed.

"That's wonderful Kamatari, I'm so happy for you." Kagome said smiling.

"You don't understand. He's planning on staying with me tonight." Kamatari said in near hysterics.

"You too, huh?" Misao said pointedly. "I guess they don't trust ANY of us to protect ourselves."

"You don't understand. He's planning on STAYING with me tonight." Kamatari said seriously.

"I heard you the first time, Kamatari, I mean… oh. You mean STAYING with you tonight." Misao said starting to blush uncontrollably.

Megumi was sitting close by and over heard the exchange. "Well, I guess even HE has a libido. Congratulations, it looks like at least SOMEBODY is going to have a fun night."

"Fun night? Are you NUTS? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" Kamatari was saying hysterically as she ran around the hut in circles. "There something about me I'm sure he's bound to notice."

The rest of the women suddenly understood the implication. They had come to think of Kamatari as just another one of the girls. Kagome was looking like she was thinking. "I think I may have an idea."

Kamatari suddenly jerked her head around. "What is it?"

"I'm going to try to heal you." Kagome said.

"I thought Alanor told you not to try to do an internal healing." Megumi said seriously.

"I've been studying up on anatomy. It was in one of my science books. I've been studying it since we found out about Kamatari. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't know if I would be able, but I'm willing to try if you are." Kagome said looking at Kamatari.

Kamatari looked a little nervous. She had seen what Soujiro went through when Kagome was just trying to heal some minor cuts and bruises. Still if this meant she would finally be able to have a normal relationship…

"What do you need me to do?" Kamatari said seriously.

"Just lie down." Kagome ordered as she got out he science book. Kagome also blushed. "I need you to lift your kimono, and I'm also going to need a model."

All the other women looked uncomfortable, but Megumi finally stepped up. "I'm a doctor, so I'll do it."

Kagome had the two women lay down on either side of her and laid out her book so she could get a good mental picture of what she had to do. "I'm sorry, but Alanor said I have to touch the area to be healed."

Kamatari nodded and Megumi rolled her eyes. "Don't be squeamish Kagome. If you're going to be a healer, you need to get over it. I've had to operate on men who were wounded there before. Just concentrate on the job at hand."

Kamatari closed her eyes as she felt herself being touched by Kagome. She heard Misao close to the door. "Whatever you're going to do you better hurry, Aoshi is headed over this way."

The pain that suddenly raced through Kamatari's body was immense. It took all of her training as a warrior not to scream in agony. It burned her insides and it felt like her entire body was on fire. After what seemed like an eternity, Kamatari was finally able to open her eyes. Uncertainly she looked down to what was now quite definitely a woman's gender.

Kagome helped Kamatari to stand and she and Megumi quickly covered themselves as Aoshi knocked at the door briefly before entering.

"I don't remember saying come in." Megumi said icily.

"I only came to apologize." Aoshi said stiffly. "I did not mean to offend."

"Darn right you need to apologize coming on that strong to poor Kamatari!" Misao said in a scolding tone. "You nearly gave the poor girl a heart attack!"

"Aoshi, wait." Kamatari said as Aoshi was turning to leave. "I'm sorry for running away. It's just that, in all honesty, I've never been with a man before. If you want to stay with me tonight, you can." Kamatari felt heat rising to her cheeks. _I'm actually blushing!_

Aoshi turned around to look at Kamatari. For some reason, just the way he was looking at her made her knees turn to water. The only sign of any emotion was an arched eyebrow.

Aoshi walked over to Kamatari and before she knew it he had offered her his hand. Gingerly she took it and let him guide her toward the door. "Good night ladies, I'll see you at breakfast. On second thought," she said looking at Aoshi mischievously, "make that lunch."

Hiko watched as everyone started to get off to sleep. Then he slowly crept toward the hut where the sake was kept. A good night's sleep would be his tonight. He had watched the women until he had been sure that the ones not staying in the main hut were going to be watched by other men.

He had been exceedingly glad when he'd seen the doctor woman come for Sanosuke so she could move into a comfortable hut with the girls. Sano seemed disappointed that he wouldn't be alone with Megumi, but then when the little girls started hugging him with joy, he didn't seem too displeased either.

Hiko pushed the young man and his surrogate children out of his thoughts as he zeroed in on his target. The storage shed was dark and unguarded. All the women were escorted tonight except for Tae and the others who should be in the hut. Hiko started to step out until he saw someone coming.

Aoshi and Kamatari appeared and Kamatari disappeared into the hut, reappearing a few moments later with a bottle of sake. She and Aoshi then disappeared in the direction of the village gate, probably to go explore the hot spring that had been the scene of Soujiro's 'adventure' the night before.

After the two had disappeared, Hiko moved silently to the shed. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside to avoid anyone seeing him. Then he slowly turned around. There in the moonlight cast from a single window he saw the object of his desire. There on a shelf stood three large bottles of sake.

Hiko slowly crept across the room and gingerly lifted one of the bottles. It was full. Hiko smiled to himself and quickly uncorked his prize, lifting it to his lips.

Hiko spewed the offensive substance all over the wall. "WATER?"

A light was lit behind Hiko, and he turned to see Tae sitting up in her futon with a candle lit. "Yes, it's water. What did you think I was going to do, leave the sake out unguarded all night so you could drink yourself into a stupor?"

"You have a sick sense of humor, woman. Where is the sake?" Hiko demanded irritably.

"It's hidden. Well away from wherever you might look." Tae said stubbornly. "You're of no use to anyone if you're going to be drunk all night long. What if we were to be attacked at night?"

"I can fight as well drunk as I can sober." Hiko retorted. "Besides, I won't be able to fight in the daylight if I pass out from not being able to sleep."

"Then I suggest you lie down now, instead of skulking all over the village." Tae said shortly.

"I thought we agreed that all the women were going to be with a man tonight for protection or else they were going to be staying in the main hut." Hiko finally said.

"They are. I figured you'd be along tonight. So I guess I don't have to worry about sleeping alone." Tae said sweetly.

"How'd you know I was coming tonight?" Hiko said hotly.

"I've been watching men drink themselves into an early grave nearly all my life. I can usually tell about what time they start looking for sake to steal. Your hands have been twitching all day long." Tae said seriously. "We need you right now and I'm not letting you drink yourself to death."

Hiko sighed in defeat. "So how am I supposed to get off to sleep?"

Tae moved over and patted the futon next to her. "By coming to bed and getting started now. Sleeping on the ground wrapped up in that cape of yours isn't helping. Your clothes could probably use a good washing as well. I laid out a sleeping robe for you over there and Sango found me a change of clothes for you in the morning. It seems there was at least one man in her village that had been as large as you are."

Hiko looked at the clothes that had been laid out for him and started to get ready for sleep. He doubted tonight would be any better than any other, but he didn't really have much of a choice short of killing the woman.

It had been a fitful night. Tae had heard about swordsmen and their dreams. Hiko, like many others would toss and turn restlessly, and then would sit bolt upright, trying to reach for his sword, which wasn't there. Tae spent the night sleeping next to him and then soothing him back to sleep when he would awaken.

Tae had seen too many men try to drown their sorrows in sake. She'd had to watch her father drink himself to death after her mother died, and she wasn't about to loose another person she cared about. Tae had to admit there was something about Hiko that both infuriated her and attracted her at the same time. He was always the most confident man in the group. He was powerful, strong, and in all honesty he could have beaten the information out of her in order to get to his sake, but he hadn't. Instead had had bent himself to her will, because more than likely he knew it was for the best.

Tae held Hiko all night long until finally the dreams let him be. He snored, not very loudly, but enough for her to be able to tell when he was comfortable and asleep. Tae allowed herself a moment to study the swordsman closely. She kept paintings of big powerful men, but she decided that the paintings wouldn't have done Hiko justice.

The first rays of light had already started to lighten the sky when Tae woke up. She was asleep against Hiko's chest and he was snoring quietly with his arm draped over her. Tae wiggled out from under the giant's grip and got dressed. She quietly went to the small hidden storage compartment and lifted out the smallest bottle of sake she could find.

She placed it next to Hiko and then quietly gathered his clothes and his cape before leaving to go get breakfast started. She was somewhat startled as she left the hut to encounter Kenshin.

"Ms. Tae? I thought you were in the main hut?" Kenshin said as he looked at the clothes she was carrying. Kenshin's eyes were getting larger by the moment.

"I stayed in this hut last night with Master Hiko." Tae said quietly. "I'm taking his clothes to be washed. They're starting to smell."

"Is Master Hiko still in there?" Kenshin asked stupidly, most likely due to the fact that he probably couldn't think of anything else to say.

"No Kenshin, he's decided to become a nudist and is currently streaking through the village. Of course he's still in there, but don't you go waking him just yet, he didn't sleep too well last night. Don't worry, I left him some clothes so he'll have something to wear." Tae said, trying to reassure the obviously uncomfortable samurai.

"Here, why don't you go get the others started on their sword lessons? I'll have Kagome help me with breakfast until Hiko gets up to start her lessons." Tae said smiling.

Kenshin merely nodded and wandered off to go find Inuyasha and Yahiko. He was Hiko's first apprentice after all, so it would have logically been his duty.

Tae sighed and headed for the main hut. If she had the material to replace them, she probably would have opted to burn these smelly things.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

A/N: I have also added a section to Chapter 17, so if you haven't read it recently, you may want to reread it. (I also fixed the mistake about 'Tenken no Soujiro' in Chapter 8, I don't speak Japanese very well so thanks for pointing that out.)

Chapter 18.

Alanor moved back from the tree he had been standing behind. He had seen enough. The small island housed a massive demon population. He slipped back from the clearing and headed back toward the water. As he arrived he slowly began to change until he looked like a large sea turtle.

Alanor didn't feel relief until he was far away from the shore of the island. He got back to the mainland and shifted back into his customary shape before heading inland a couple of miles. Once there he surrounded himself in his traveling sphere of energy and rocketed off towards his camp.

Anji was meditating and Cho was cooking a few rabbits over their small fire. Anji didn't stir as he stepped into the camp and sat down exhausted.

"So how did it go?" Cho asked trying to hide his enthusiasm.

"Not good. They have some sort of fortress and it's surrounded by demons. I was nearly caught five times just getting close enough to look at it." Alanor said grumpily.

"So how are we supposed to storm the place and shut the gate?" Anji said as he finally looked up from his meditation.

"_We_ don't. That place is too well defended. If we were to try to get in there without an army I have little doubt we would be slaughtered." Alanor said sadly.

"Well, maybe an army would be the wrong idea." Cho said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Alanor asked.

"Well, since you don't need any of our help to get the gates closed, I can only assume that you're the only one who needs to get in." Cho said quietly.

"Yes, so what is your point?" Alanor said irritably.

"Well, we used to do some stuff like this back home. Raising armies, attacking governments, that kind of thing is what we do best. If we were to get the demons attention, maybe you could slip in and destroy the gate." Cho said finally. "We can go get the others and round up as many people as we can. Then we can attack. While the demons are fighting with us, you can slip past and seal this stupid thing."

"Do you e any idea how many lives you're talking about wasting." Alanor said in annoyance.

"That is the way of war, Alanor-sama." Anji said seriously. "If people throw their lives away to see that a goal is achieved, it is not exactly a waste."

"Shishio understood this. He knew that when you wage a war you have to make sacrifices. That's why people don't like wars." Cho said as he shrugged.

Alanor thought about it for a moment. If the swordsmen COULD cause a big enough distraction, he could get by. He might have to have Kagome's help, but could probably get her past the demons as well. Most of these swordsmen had finished their place in history. He could use their help and he believed they would probably understand the sacrifice that was being asked of them.

"We'll head back then. Once we get back we'll start discussing how to plan our attack." Alanor said finally. "Let's just hope it isn't for nothing."

Kenshin watched Yahiko sparring with Inuyasha. Granted it was more along the lines of Yahiko swinging madly at Inuyasha while Inuyasha looked on, but it was good practice for Yahiko.

Kenshin had also noticed Sesshomaru watching the training with intense interest. At least he figured it was intense interest since the demon hadn't moved from the spot he had been sitting for hours and hadn't stopped staring at Inuyasha. Finally, Kenshin went to sit down beside the demon.

"Inuyasha is getting better." Kenshin said not really expecting to get an answer.

"Yes. His sword style looks a lot less like that of that young boy's now." Sesshomaru said quietly. "Soon it will be time to kill him."

"Why do you want to kill Inuyasha?" Kenshin asked seriously.

"He is a filthy half breed who is an embarrassment to my family. What my father was thinking when he sired him is beyond me." Sesshomaru said disdainfully. "However he is powerful, and this training is making him even more so. I look forward to facing him, it promises to be a mighty battle."

"I am not sure Kagome-dono would like to see Inuyasha get killed." Kenshin said worriedly.

"What she does or does not want does not concern me." Sesshomaru said looking down at the necklace around him again. "As soon as I find someone powerful enough to remove this charm I will deal with Inuyasha."

Kenshin left the demon to his thoughts and was getting ready to send Yahiko for lunch when Master Hiko came wandering out to the clearing they were using as a training ground with Kagome in tow.

Kenshin wanted to laugh, but he didn't dare. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, and Yahiko was looking at Hiko with even larger stars in his eyes.

Hiko was dressed in a fine gi and hakama that made him look like a daimyo. The clothes fit him well and he looked like he could have easily passed for a warlord with the sword at his side.

Hiko sat down and watched Yahiko and Inuyasha far a few moments before making some corrections. He then turned to Kenshin. "Kenshin, you start sparring with Inuyasha. I'm going to show a couple of basics to Yahiko and have him start doing his repetitions while you two are training."

Kagome went to bring lunch and the men quietly ate before going back to practice. Kenshin noticed that Hiko had an unopened jug of sake with him. The only two things that caused Kenshin to wonder anything about this was that first, it was opened yet, and secondly, how he'd managed to get it away from Tae.

Hiko spent the afternoon staring at the jug while Kenshin sparred with Inuyasha. Yahiko happily set out doing to move that Hiko had shown him over and over again trying to perfect it.

The sun had started to sink low in the sky when the man rode up to the group. He was on horseback and looked like he was a samurai. He didn't even stop as he thundered up to Hiko.

"You must be the warlord of this village." The samurai said wearily. "Gather all of your men as quickly as you can. There is an emergency. The lord of this area is engaged in a pitched battle and has sent me out to seek you. He is beset by an army and needs your help."

"Why our help?" Kagome asked innocently.

"This is the demon slayer village is it not? I was told to come here immediately. The army we are beset by is a fowl army of demon ninja!" The samurai said desperately.

Hiko turned to the man and nodded. "Return to your lord then. We'll set out first thing in the morning."

The samurai galloped away and Hiko looked at all the people gathered. "Get everyone together. We need to talk about this now."

Kenshin looked out over the people gathered in the village. Everyone had come to hear what was going on. After everyone was settled, Hiko spoke up. "The demon ninja have found us."

The gathered men and women soaked this in calmly and looked around grave. Tae was the first to speak. "What are we going to do?"

"We should probably pack up and leave here as quickly ass possible and go find another place to wait for Alanor." Hiko said gravely.

"But those men." Kagome said desperately. "They're being attacked because we are here. We can't just leave them."

"We can and should." Inuyasha snorted. "It's not our problem."

"I disagree." Sesshomaru said simply.

Everyone looked at the demon that had taken the place of Aoshi as the most silent member of their group. Inuyasha was ready to gnaw through rock.

"What, do you mean you disagree? Since when did you start caring about humans?" Inuyasha said angrily.

"I haven't. I just decided to help because you didn't." Sesshomaru said icily.

Kenshin shook his head and looked back to Hiko. "Master if it is because we are here, then this isn't something that would disrupt history by our being here. If anything, we could be disrupting history by NOT helping."

"Yes, Kenshin, I know." Hiko said calmly. "That's why I said that we SHOULD be leaving, not that it was going to be necessarily what we are going to do. If we try to run then we're going to be hunted down. We can try to keep running, but sooner or later the demons are going to catch up to us. We have to do something about them. We should be able to hold out here at least until Alanor gets back. What I am recommending is that we go to battle."

The men all started to let this sink as Kenshin thought about it. A pitched battle; he hadn't been in one for quite some time. These were demon warriors as well. He couldn't be certain they would do any better than they had in their first encounter with the demon ninjas. His blood began to race at the thought of being in a fight for his life again to defend the one he loved.

Kenshin looked at Kaoru. She was looking down and he knew what had to be running through her mind. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and nodded. It was going to be tough for everyone.

"Sango, you said that your people have armor similar to your own?" Hiko said finally.

"Yes, there should be plenty of armor left, as with the weapons." Sango said seriously.

"Then I think you need to show us where it is." Hiko said finally.

Nearly everyone got up and went to the old village armory. They began looking around trying to find armor that would fit them. Kenshin noticed that some of the men were looking at Sango, Misao, Kaoru, Kamatari, and Yahiko as they found armor that would fit them as well. Sango was giving Yahiko a suit of armor that had apparently belonged to her little brother Kohaku.

Hiko didn't say a word as he watched the five of them putting on armor and getting out weapons. Finally he shrugged into some armor that was his size. Everyone got into some armor and by the time it was over with, Kenshin watched a loosely associated group of individualistic swordsmen transform into an elite unit of demon slayers. It was an inspiring and yet terrifying thought at the same time.

Hiko looked them over and then made an announcement. "Yahiko, you and Tsubame take the children to the main hut."

Yahiko and Tsubame gathered up the girls, Rin, and Shippou and headed for the main hut with them. As soon as they were out of earshot, Hiko addressed the group. "All of you remember what Alanor said about those two. If we know it, then we have to assume the demons probably do too. We're not all going to go help in this battle. Sango, you take Kaoru, Kamatari, and Misao. You have to watch this village while we're gone. If anything looks strange, you HAVE to get those two and the children out of here."

For once, no one was arguing. Kenshin recalled his comrades during the rebellion always wanted to argue abut things until they had been forced into hiding. Mutual extinction tended to settle most arguments between the most bitter of rivals. He only needed to look at Saitoh to be reminded of that.

"What about me?" Kagome said quietly.

"I want you to stay as well." Hiko said finally. "If everything goes badly, make for the well. Try to hide in a different time if you to."

Hiko turned to the rest of the group. "We'll set out first thing in the morning. Everybody try to get some rest."

After everyone dispersed, Sanosuke headed for the main hut to go collect the girls. He couldn't help feeling a little bit like a father to the two little girls. They made his somewhat dark life a little brighter, just by their being in it. He flexed his new demon bone gauntlets and adjusted them a little bit. With luck these things would come in handy tomorrow.

Sanosuke arrived to find Kenshin, Kaoru and Megumi all at the main hut. They were all looking a little shaken at the news of a coming battle and Kaoru looked miserable about Kenshin risking himself again.

"Well, I guess we better get some sleep Kenshin. I'll get the girls." Sanosuke said getting ready to walk into hut.

"Sano, wait." Megumi called after him. "Kaoru, can you keep the girls tonight."

Kaoru looked at Megumi and then back at Sanosuke before she started blushing uncontrollably. She looked like she was ready to nod for a moment, but then shook her head. "Let's get Yahiko and Tsubame to do it."

Sanosuke looked at Kaoru blushing as she took Kenshin's arm. Kenshin looked startled and ready to protest. Suddenly something clicked in Sano's admittedly slow brain as he looked at the fox. She wouldn't look directly at him, and she was blushing as well. He didn't even think she knew HOW to blush.

"I just think you need to have a good night's sleep." Megumi said defensively. "And there have been a few things we've needed to talk about between the two of us."

Sanosuke just nodded dumbly and watched as Kaoru pulled a dumbfounded Kenshin off towards her hut to 'talk about a few things' too.

Miroku went back to his bedroll. He had done something strange tonight. He had picked out his own armor. He had fought the demon ninjas before and they had nearly killed him. Without his wind tunnel, he had to rely on his sutras and his fighting ability with a staff. He had therefore thought it wise to get some armor as well.

Sango had been looking at him ever since he donned the armor. He could only imagine how silly he must have looked. He didn't really like being in the stuff, but if it saved his life it would be worth it.

Miroku was just about to get ready for bed when Sango found him. "Miroku, can I talk to you in private?"

"Certainly Sango, what do you want?" Miroku said as he stepped away from the hut where he and Inuyasha had been staying.

"I need to show you something." Sango said mysteriously as she led him through the village. Miroku noticed that just about everyone else had turned in for the night.

Finally, they stopped in front of a large house near the center of the village. Sango stepped inside and motioned Miroku to follow. Miroku stepped in as Sango lit a lamp and led him through the house out to a small garden. It looked as if this had been where Sango had been staying.

"Miroku, I know I've never shown you this place. This is my home. This is where Kohaku and I were raised." Sango said evenly.

Miroku looked around the house. It was well appointed and was obviously a house built by a well off family. "It looks wonderful Sango."

Sango turned to Miroku and looked up into his eyes. "Miroku, you a I have been getting closer since our journeys began."

Miroku smiled. He stood there thinking about his time with Sango. For once his reminiscing about the past had caused him to forgo making a lewd comment.

Sango blushed. "Tomorrow, you'll be going off to battle and I'll be staying behind here. Miroku, this decision wasn't easy for me to reach, but the idea of losing you to the battle when I wouldn't be by your side has made me realize that I want you stay in my life. I don't want to lose you."

Miroku pulled Sango close. He had come to love the demon slayer and now the idea of losing her was a sobering thought as well. He stood there trying for once to say something reassuring instead of his usual perverted attempts to make her laugh.

Sango pushed away from Miroku and he let her go as she stepped back from him and started loosening his armor. "You're not used to this stuff. I'll have to help you with it in the morning or else it's likely to fall off of you in battle." Sango said in a business-like manner.

Miroku's eyes started to widen at the implication. "Miroku, that over there is my room." Sango said pointing. "Will you please stay with me tonight and… Will you give me a child?"

Miroku smiled again as he once again pulled Sango to him. "No."

Sango jerked away and looked up startled into Miroku's face. He put his hands to her lips before she could say a word. "What I will do his help you make OUR child."

The night had turned cold. Kagome shivered in spite of the warmth of the small fire in the middle of the room where the children were sleeping. By children she also included Yahiko and Tsubame. Yahiko looked handsome in his demon slayer armor. He had actually gone along with the announcement when he found he was going to be left behind. He didn't want to leave Tsubame.

Kagome sighed as she watched everybody headed for their huts. With a few exceptions, everyone had pretty much paired up by now. Inuyasha was sharing a hut with Miroku and in all honesty Sango was probably the only woman that no one had bothered to insist on being guarded at night.

"Worthless lecher." Inuyasha snorted as he entered the room. Kagome sat up and looked around. She was the only woman left in the room for some reason.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Kagome asked sleepily.

"Why is it you humans feel the need to mate before you go into battle?" Inuyasha said testily.

Kagome blushed. So that's where everybody had gone. "So Sango and Miroku?"

"They're over at Sango's old house. She took Miroku over there to 'show him something'. I don't think he'll be back tonight. That leaves me as the only person left to guard you and the rest of the children." Inuyasha groused.

"Well, I guess it's because the women really don't want to loose their men and want to have a few last moments with them before they go. They may never see them again after all." Kagome said looking up at Inuyasha. _Just like I don't want to loose you._

Inuyasha moved over to sit next to Kagome. "Kagome. Can you answer me a question?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?" Kagome asked as she settled into her sleeping bag.

"Why did you put that necklace on Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha said seriously.

"You two were fighting, and it was the only way I could get you to stop." Kagome said seriously.

"Why didn't you want me to kill Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha said looking away.

"Because I don't think it's necessary to kill everybody." Kagome said seriously. "Even though you think he's your enemy he's still your brother, so I don't want you two to be fighting, especially when things are so dangerous right now. We need all the help we can get."

"So it's not because you think I'm weak?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome sat up. "Of course I don't think you're weak Inuyasha! How could you say that?"

"It's just, that I've always been the one to protect you. I failed to protect Kikyo, and I don't want to fail you too. I hate to think of you choosing someone lese to protect you because you thought they were stronger." Inuyasha said quietly.

"Is that what all this is about?" Kagome asked incredulously trying to keep her voice down from the children. "You think I prefer Sesshomaru over you because he's stronger?"

"Isn't that why you won't let me kill Kouga?" Inuyasha said seriously.

"No Inuyasha. I don't prefer anyone over you." Kagome said suddenly sucking in her breath. She'd basically let her feelings show. Now she just hoped she wouldn't end up hurt… again.

Inuyasha turned to her and smiled. "Among dog and wolf demons, only the strongest male in the pack gets to mate."

"You're also half human, and humans mate for love." Kagome said laying her hand on his arm.

Inuyasha looked around in fear. "Kagome there are kids here." He whispered emphatically.

"That's OK Inuyasha. Just sleep here with me and keep me warm tonight. I know you're strong enough to come back to me tomorrow, no matter what the odds." Kagome said making room for Inuyasha in her sleeping bag.

Shippou rolled over and looked at Inuyasha and Kagome snuggled next to each other in her sleeping bag. "Finally!" He whispered to himself. He had wondered why Kagome had made him sleep with the other children and now he knew. Still he missed his warm spot curled up on top of Kagome. Shippou looked around until he saw Rin sleeping next to him. She looked warm.

Soujiro added another piece of wood to the fire and started shrugging out of his armor. It took him a moment before he realized that he wasn't alone. He turned around to find Misao staring at him from the doorway of the hut he had claimed as his own. She entered in and set her things down, she then came over and started to help him with his armor.

"Misao, what are you doing here?" Soujiro said shocked.

"I'm helping you with your armor silly." Misao said as she continued to undress him.

"But, why?" Soujiro said getting alarmed.

"Because I don't want your armor digging into my back while I sleep." Misao said softly. She stopped for a moment before putting her hands on Soujiro's chest. "That is, if you'll have me."

Soujiro stood there stunned for a moment. She was offering to… "Misao. I don't want it to be like this. Misao you deserve…"

Misao had placed a hand over his mouth before she kissed him. "If you say that you don't deserve someone as pure as I am, or that you're not worthy of me, I swear I'll scream. I want you Soujiro, and only you."

"It's not that." Soujiro said quietly. "I've never been with a girl Misao, and I would want more than anything for you to be the one I was with. But I'm a wanderer. What can I offer you? I want you Misao, and I love you. I couldn't do that to you. You deserve someone who could be your husband."

"I know Sou-chan. I love you too, and you've already given me something I've never really had before. You've given me your heart. That's all I've ever wanted, and all I'll ever need is to know that you me. If you want to wait until we can be married then I will wait, but tonight I want you to hold me in your arms. I want you to kiss me and make me feel loved. I want to feel that before you go." Misao said as she started to undress.

Soujiro stood there stunned as Misao took off the armor and the clothes she was wearing before getting into the futon. "Come to bed love, the night is cold and I want your warmth next to me until you have to leave tomorrow."

Tae looked around the village. Just about everybody had paired off and gone to bed for the night with varying levels of activity, from the sound of things. Aoshi and Kamatari had wandered home and Saitoh and Tokio had gone to their hut. She figured that Misao was also out hunting since she had seen her headed off after Soujiro. She sighed and went back into the hut where she had been staying. About the only being in the camp that didn't have a companion for the night was Sesshomaru, and she honestly didn't think he cared either.

The door opened and Hiko finally came inside. Tae wasn't overly surprised to see him and he didn't really say anything either as the two of them started to get ready for bed.

Tae went to the shelf and pulled down one of the jugs she had gotten out earlier. She handed it to Hiko. "Here. You'll need all the rest you can get tonight."

Hiko looked at it for a moment before setting it back on the shelf where she had gotten it. "I still have the jug you left me this morning." He said simply.

This more than his being in her hut surprised her more than anything. "How did you sleep last night?"

"It was OK." Hiko said finally. "I took me a while, but the dreams finally stopped."

"Are they that bad?" Tae asked quietly.

"Sometimes."

"Why didn't you drink what I gave you?" Tae asked, helping him out of the armor he was wearing.

"I figured as long as you were willing to help me sleep, I didn't need it." Hiko said as he finished getting ready for bed. He handed the small jug back to Tae.

Tae looked at the jug, and then popped the cork out. She drank deeply of the sake before handing the jug to Hiko. "Then I guess we should drink it to celebrate then."

"Celebrate what?" Hiko asked confused.

Tae smiled and dropped her kimono to the floor. She wasn't a shy woman, but she was blushing anyway. "Let's celebrate you finding a reason to live again." Tae said as she stepped away from her clothes to kiss Hiko before settling into the futon. "Come. We'll see how deeply we can get you to sleep tonight."

Tae wasn't the first to awaken the next morning. She'd finally fallen asleep in Hiko's arms after they'd both exhausted the sake and themselves the night before. He hadn't stirred the entire night. She had only awakened as the first rays of light had pierced the room and Hiko had pulled away from her to rise and get into his armor. Tae silently got up and dressed quickly before helping him into his armor.

There were no tearful good byes, or long declarations of love between the two of them. Tae figured that the two of them were old enough to have outgrown such childish romantic notions. Instead, there was just the silent familiarity of two people who were in essence one. Tae left the hut at the same time as Hiko. She went to the storage huts and started gathering food for the men that they could eat on the way to battle. She noticed that most of the other women were already there, doing the same.

They all quietly got the provisions together and all the women went to see off their husbands, lovers, and betrothed as they gathered together to set out for the battle. Two demons, and seven warriors turned from the women and started out into the rising sun for the battle. Tae watched them go along with the rest of the women. Some were crying, some looked brave, but they all had one thing in common. They were all worried.

Tae turned as she saw them disappear into the trees. "Come along ladies." Tae said as she busied herself straightening her kimono and starting to get things together to cook for breakfast, trying to cover the worry she had etched into her own features. "If I know Hiko and the rest of these men. They'll be back to claim what's theirs."


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 19.

Hiko looked down at the battlefield. There were plenty of casualties. "We need to find this lord's army and see if we can't find out where the demons are."

"Do you smell anything Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.

"No, too much blood in the air." Inuyasha replied.

Hiko looked around for a moment before looking off into the distance. He could just see the cloud of dust coming over the hill a few miles away. A couple of moments later, the origin of the cloud stopped in front of him out of breath.

"There's an army up ahead." Soujiro said between breaths. "They're held up in a small palisade. There's no sign of the ninjas."

The rest of the men were just coming back from checking the bodies. "They died last night." Saitoh reported. "Apparently these ninjas fight at night. These men weren't camping, they were ready for battle."

Hiko nodded before he looked at the rest of the men. "We're going to go see this lord. If this proves to be a trap to lure us away from the village, I want you all to race back there as quickly as possible. Some of you will be able to reach the village more quickly, but don't wait on anyone. If the rest of us fall behind we'll try to catch up and track you down later if necessary. The village is the top priority."

All the men nodded. This wasn't anything new, but some things were important enough to be reinforced. The small group headed out towards the palisade to find the men waiting.

"Halt, and state your business." The guard said as they approached.

"We are from the village of the demon slayers. We've come at the invitation of your lord." Hiko said simply.

The guards took one look at the armor the men were wearing and let them pass. They found the lord of the territory looking over his maps with his aides.

"I see you did come." The lord said magnanimously. "I had heard that the demon slayers had all been wiped out. I am glad to see my information has proved incorrect."

"The village was nearly wiped out." Hiko said quietly. "A few survived." This was technically true since Sango had survived, and they HAD come from the demon slayer village, just not originally. Hiko hoped history was vague surrounding these events.

The samurai nodded and motioned for Hiko to take a seat. He then looked up and seemed startled to see Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. "What are these demons doing here with you?"

"They have had a spell placed on them by a priestess back in the demon slayer village. She is powerful and subjugated the two of them. They fight on our side now." Hiko said calmly.

Inuyasha started to speak but a quick elbow to the ribs from Miroku silenced him. For once Hiko was glad Sesshomaru was the silent type.

"So where are the demons? Lord…" Hiko asked getting down to business before anyone could start complaining again.

"Tanaka Ichiro. I am the lord of all these lands." Lord Tanaka said proudly. "And to answer your questions, they're gone for now. They only attack at night. My men have been having to sleep during the day, because they have to fight nearly all night."

"So have you a any progress against these demons?" Hiko asked with interest.

"No. My men are being slowly slaughtered. There are hundreds of demons, but there is nothing we can do against them. Our weapons are useless against them, only my blade; a holy sword handed down for generations within my family is able to harm them. I began this campaign outnumbering the demons five to one. Now I only have a quarter of my original troop after only three nights." Lord Tanaka said gravely.

"So they will be back tonight?" Hiko asked plainly.

"Yes. They return every night. It's almost ass if they're looking for something, but as soon as they encounter my men they start attacking. We fall back, counterstrike, and defend ourselves as best we can, but they too strong." Tanaka said desperately.

"Why not leave?" Hiko asked.

"I cannot allow this scourge to run unchecked across my lands. If I leave they will continue to move across the land. As long as my men are here and fight they cannot spread to the surrounding villages and towns." Tanaka said stoically.

Hiko wanted to laugh, but didn't want to anger the lord. His men were being slaughtered and he stood there and took it instead of evacuating villages away from the demons and saving his army. Hiko was reminded of why he didn't work well with military commanders.

"Very well then, Lord Tanaka. We will help. We'll stay here until tonight and we'll see what we can do." Hiko said finally. "However, we must warn you. Our first priority is to our village. If the demons attack there, we will be forced to fall back to defend it."

"Understood. This is the fee I believe you usually charge for your services." Lord Tanaka said as he motioned his hand to the side and one of his men set a large sack on the table that had a pleasant tinkle to it.

Hiko looked at the monk who stepped forward to accept the sack. "You are most kind, Lord Tanaka."

Hiko heard his baka deshi start to speak up. "I don't think we…"

He then heard a resounding slap to the back of his head from Saitoh, Aoshi, or possibly both. Hiko smiled and went back to looking over the map. It was dangerously close to the village. They would have to meet the demons tonight. If they made any more progress towards the village the children would be in danger.

Kenshin walked around the palisade with Sano. It had been quite a while since he'd been in a full-scale battle. He hoped his skills hadn't deteriorated so far that he wouldn't be coming home to Kaoru. Kenshin swore for the third time that day that if he managed to make it out of this one alive he was going to become a recluse and never leave the dojo again.

Sano was sporting his new gauntlets. Miroku had assured him that the sutras he'd made would have sufficed for Sano to hurt demons with, but Sano had liked the gauntlets even more. Kenshin had to admit they did look kinda cool.

The two of them wandered around watching the setting sun. They had gotten some rest earlier and were now waiting for the rest of the men to join them. Not long after the sun went down the battle would start commencing.

Lord Tanaka walked out of his tent in his full samurai armor and nodded to the two of them. He was a decent fellow, who seemed to be interested in protecting his people, so Kenshin had taken a liking to him. The young lord walked over to the two of them.

"I see you are already up. The rest of you will be joining us shortly?" Tanaka asked with aplomb.

"Yeah, Hiko and the rest of the men will be out shortly. He sent Inuyasha and Sesshomaru out to scout around in case there might be more than just demon ninjas out there." Sano said seriously.

"So you've fought these things before?" Tanaka asked.

"Yeah." Sano said simply. "We got our butts kicked though."

Tanaka seemed to be rather alarmed until Kenshin piped in. "We were caught without our weapons that we needed to fight the demons. We were badly outnumbered and were forced to retreat. We've been looking for a rematch ever since."

Tanaka nodded soberly. "I can understand. I don't know what I would do without my family blade. All this fighting disgusts me. I can only hope that the land is one day unified so there is no more need for such as this."

"You don't sound like a man of war." Kenshin said appreciatively.

"I'm not really. Truth be told, I killed my favorite dog when I was a young boy and swore I'd never strike anyone dead ever again. Somehow though these demons haven't presented me with the luxury. I can only take solace in the fact that these demons aren't really human. I guess, I should amend my vow so that I never strike another HUMAN dead ever again." Tanaka said chuckling.

Kenshin had to admit that he didn't like the idea either, but he was hoping he could at least bring himself to strike down these demons. He kept trying to convince himself that he wasn't killing humans.

Finally, the rest of the men and the two demons appeared just as the sun was setting. The seven men and the two demons looked around and started to loosen themselves up for the coming battle. Kenshin looked over at the two demonic brothers and shrugged. The demon ninjas were nothing like Sesshomaru or Inuyasha.

"Just stay out of my way Sesshomaru and we'll get along fine." Inuyasha was saying haughtily.

"I'll go wherever I please and if it means I go through you then so be it." Sesshomaru said icily.

Well OK, maybe not MUCH like Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

"Why are you even here?" Inuyasha said coldly. I thought Alanor wanted you to go with him.

"I declined."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because I wanted to see your face planted in the ground by that miko some more." Sesshomaru said with what might have been taken for humor in his voice.

"Why you…"

"Save it for the demons, Inuyasha." Miroku said seriously. "They're probably going to be here any minute."

True enough the sun had already set and the night was quickly becoming dark. The men all watched as the guards began lighting torches and bonfires sprang to life to help illuminate the field of battle. There wasn't much to distinguish between friend or foe on the battlefield and Kenshin made certain to check where Saitoh was just in case.

The men all stepped outside the palisade as the gates were closed. Tonight they would be fighting alone. The humans inside the palisade could do little to stop the demon onslaught. The men had decided that since Inuyasha and Sesshomaru stood the best chance against the demon horde, they would be the spearhead of the assault and the other men would gather around to pick off the stragglers that might try to get in close for a shot at the two brothers while they were busy dealing out copious amounts of damage to the enemy.

Kenshin stood beside Tanaka and watched as the mist began to gather around the battlefield. It was surreal to watch the mist defying the fires as it crept past. Kenshin could see the forms within moving and disappearing only to reappear a few seconds later. Kenshin pulled his sword from its sheath and could hear the other men doing the same. They waited as their enemy approached on silent cat's feet.

It came in an instant. One moment the mist seemed to coalesce before them the next the mist broke apart as the horde charged the palisade wall. In an instant Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had both drawn their blades and unleashed the fury of their combined demonic power. So great was the blow that the first few lines of demons disappeared utterly in an instant. Kenshin began to hope that perhaps it had been unnecessary for them to be there when the second wave struck.

Wave after wave began to crash against them as Kenshin noticed small numbers of demons avoiding the blasts by sheer weight of numbers threatening to swamp the two brothers. At Hiko's command the men all raised their weapons.

"Here they COME!" Hiko cried, as the aired seemed to go still for just an instant before demon clashed against demon slayer blade.

Kenshin danced around as quickly as his feet would allow him slashing all around him cleaving apart the dark forms of the ninjas. There was no blood, and no corpses. There was only a dissolving miasma that would slowly fade away as the demons died.

Kenshin found himself about to be crushed by three demons when Sano suddenly appeared slamming one in the side and sending it careening into the other two. There was no time for thanks or even a nod as the next wave struck them. All around, the other men were fighting with everything they had. Hiko had impaled one demon and was already swinging to decapitate another before the first was even dissolved off his blade.

Kenshin turned to see Soujiro chased by four demons only to see him rebound from a leap of the palisade wall and slice through three of them before parrying the forth. Kenshin turned his attention back to his own opponents as two jumped from nowhere to slash at him.

Kenshin felt a bite into his shoulder that told him he had been struck, but it was a glancing blow as he turned and struck. Kenshin began to loose count of how many demons there were.

Kenshin finally looked up to see Tanaka beset by five demons. The young warlord was trying to hold them off, but five of the demons was simply too much. Kenshin sliced one on the back as he entered the fray and managed to fend off two as the young lord regained his footing. Together the two of them fought back to back against the demons.

The demons finally thinned as three more fell to Kenshin's blade. He looked around to see Sesshomaru and Inuyasha still hurling gift-wrapped murder into the teeth of the relentless enemy.

Kenshin did not have time to reach Miroku. He watched the monk fall with a sword in his chest. He did not have time to grieve, but at least took solace in that Aoshi killed the demon responsible a heartbeat later as Miroku held onto the blade denying his enemy a defense with his death.

Kenshin leaped to avoid a sword stroke and brought his blade down onto his next opponent. He could not see very much else as the battle raged around them.

After what seemed like an eternity. The enemy finally started to thin. Kenshin looked around to see who was still alive. Aoshi was helping Saitoh up, who was still alive but only barely. Hiko was on one knee breathing deeply, and Tanaka was looking around just as Kenshin was.

"That'll teach them to try to trip me." Soujiro said proudly holing up a broken chain and wrapping it around his shoulder as a trophy.

Kenshin smiled as he looked around to find Sano. He found him lying near Miroku.

Kenshin began to cry as he staggered over to Sanosuke as he lay there trying to breath.

Kenshin looked down into the face of his friend and was watching his last moments. It was the Bakumatsu all over again as Kenshin held him up and wept bitterly.

Sano finally stopped moving as Kenshin held him there and then he laid him down and covered his eyes. Kenshin bowed his head for a moment as remembered his friend and then he looked up to see Inuyasha standing over Miroku.

"I guess I'll have to take him back to Sango." Inuyasha said solemnly.

Sesshomaru walked across the battlefield as if looking for something. He finally stopped and turned toward Inuyasha. "We need to get back to the village immediately."

"Sesshomaru, we've got dead and injured here." Inuyasha said irritably.

"Well that's no excuse." Sesshomaru said pulling out the smaller of his two swords. He slashed the air near Miroku and Sanosuke before walking away. "We need to get back to the village immediately. I don't think this was all of them."

This managed to get all the men's attention. "What do you mean?" Hiko said worriedly.

"These demons aren't the smartest type in the world. They have to be focused by a greater demon to be effective. I don't see that demons body anywhere near here. The demon must have escaped, and if he saw us fighting he might have realized where the women are along with the jewel." Sesshomaru said finally.

"We'll catch up as quickly as we can." Hiko said nodding.

Soujiro had already taken off like a rocket followed by Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. With luck they could catch up to the demons before they reached the village. Kenshin hoped beyond hope. He also hoped that the three of them had managed to kill enough of them so that the three of them could finish the rest.

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" Lord Tanaka asked.

"No." Hiko said finally. "We'll gather our dead and return to the village."

"Don't go burying me yet." Sano said as he groaned and stretched trying to get up.

"Sano? You're alive!" Kenshin said overjoyed to see his friend moving. "But, how?"

"Sesshomaru must have used his Tensaiga." Miroku said as he sat up wearily. "It has the power to raise people from the dead, or so I hear."

"It would have been nice to know this BEFORE the battle." Hiko said angrily.

"Well, in all honesty, I'm surprised he used it. Sesshomaru isn't exactly the most magnanimous of people you know." Miroku said sheepishly.

"Probably figured that if he didn't Kagome would've face planted him just like Inuyasha." Hiko said thinking for a moment. Finally he turned back to Tanaka. "Lord Tanaka. Do you have horses?"

The moon was full as Sango looked down at the valley that stretched out in front of her village. She was keeping a lookout, theoretically. In reality she was watching for any sign of the men's return. She watched hoping to see Miroku come walking back to tell her that everything was going to be all right, and that the threat was passed.

Sango watched the valley for a little while longer not really seeing anything, as her mind wandered back to the monk. He was a fighter, but hadn't really been the same since he'd lost the wind tunnel. Sango hoped he was OK, since she'd never seen him think it necessary to wear armor.

Sango sighed looking around when she suddenly sensed the demonic aura. She lifted herself a little looking out into the valley floor. When she realized that the fog was moving against the wind. Sango's eyes suddenly went wide with recognition and she ran for the warning bell.

The first peals of the bell rang out over the village as the barrage of flaming arrows came over the wall. Fortunately everyone was inside, but the arrows had been meant for destruction to the buildings more than against people inside the wall.

Sango watched helplessly as a few of the buildings of her home caught fire. Most of them were empty, but by chance the main hut housing the children had also caught ablaze. Sango looked over the wall to see the first wave of demon ninjas coursing for the wall as she leapt down to the ground to run for the main hut screaming the alarm as she went.

The village came alive immediately. The ladies had retreated into the main hut with the children while the men were away and now they came running out carrying the children. Yahiko was leading Tsubame out of the hut as Kaoru, Misao, and Kamatari came running out to join Sango.

Sango didn't waste any time. "Yahiko! Get everyone to the back of the village. There's a cave there, where you should be safe. Barricade the entrance if you have to!"

Sango noticed Sesshomaru's imp running alongside the girl Rin. "Jaken! We need you!"

Jaken came to join Sango and the other ladies just as the ninjas topped the wall. Sango and the others got between the ninjas and the retreating children, just as Kagome came out of the main hut carrying her bow and arrows. Kirara also bounded out to Sango's side transforming, ready to defend her mistress.

Jaken let loose a torrent of flame into the approaching ninjas as Kagome began to rain arrows into their midst. This didn't deter the ninjas however as they swarmed over the wall like insects invading a nest.

Sango threw her boomerang and the other fighters were letting loose with their own ranged attacks as the ninjas closed in. Sango looked up for just a moment to notice that some of the ninjas had stopped atop the wall. They had bows with them and Sango could do nothing without her boomerang. "Kagome! Kirara! Archers!"

Sango watched as anyone able to reach the archers let loose a barrage to knock them from the walls. Sango looked on in desperation as she watched one of the archers targeting the retreating children. Before she could scream the arrow had been loosed.

All the world seemed to slow down as Sango's vision followed the arrows trail straight toward Tsubame. Tsubame froze in place in terror as the arrow sailed towards its mark. Sango blinked. In that one instant, when the balance of the world stood on the edge of a knife, the world was saved not by their group's greatest warrior, but their least.

Yahiko moved into the arrows path and with grace she didn't realize the boy possessed snatched the arrow from the air, and the future from the jaws of destruction. A moment later Kirara's bite silenced the last of the archers.

The world seemed to shudder as if some sort of decision had been reached and the battle once again began to rage around Sango in fiery intensity. Sango watched the retreating young lovers as she caught her boomerang. Moving it to her back to use as a shield she pulled her sword and turned to face the charge of the ninjas.

In retrospect there weren't all that many of them, but there also weren't very many of their number to defend against them either. Sango ducked and dodged skewered and slicing any of the demons that came into reach. She looked around to see the rest of her number busy as well. Jaken was managing to keep the brunt of the attack off of them as the women went to work systematically destroying any ninjas that managed to dodge the fiery embrace of the staff of two heads.

Sango had almost started to relax when she felt the ground shudder. She looked up briefly to see the largest demon she'd ever faced towering over the walls. It was hideous and looked like a samurai with one of the demonic looking face guards, but Sango was certain that it wasn't a face guard she was looking up into.

The other women had never faced anything like this beast and even Jaken began to back away as she watched the thing bat Kirara aside and raise a giant sword above its head to destroy them all.

It was in that moment she heard the howl. The demon paused with the sword raised above its head and looked aside just as a huge flash of white collided with the demon from the side.

"LORD SESSHOMARU!" Jaken cried in adoration.

The demon dog bit into the giant samurai as the two fought back and forth on the other side of the walls. Meanwhile even more of the demons poured over into the village trying to reach the jewel and the children inside.

"Iron Reaver, Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha cried as he leapt over the wall in a single bound and came down into the heart of the demons.

With Inuyasha there, the battle was once again joined in earnest as the women fought to hold back the tide of demons and Inuyasha danced through their number doing what he did best, wreaking general havoc and carving a path of destruction everywhere he went.

Misao had her own problems. She had thrown nearly all of her kunai, in the beginning of the battle and was slowly being driven back from the press of the demons. She was down to her last two kunai, which she held out with one in each hand slashing and kicking to keep the ninjas at bay. There was little else she could do as the pressed against her with weapons more designed for battle and with superior numbers.

Misao slipped and in that last moment saw her doom as a ninja raised its sword to end her short sweet life. Misao waited for her fate to be dealt to her, but the blow never landed.

Misao looked over her to realize that Soujiro was standing over her, his blade extended from the follow through of his stroke as the demon slid in half before disintegrating. Misao looked up to see the stars fall into her eyes as she looked on her champion.

Misao didn't waste any more time as she jumped up from the ground and joined Soujiro in the fight. There seemed to be a oneness between the two as they fought. Soujiro's blade never came near Misao as she seemed to move with him through the fight almost becoming one with his body as she would spin over his back and around him, using him as leverage to lash out with a flurry of kicks and stabs.

Misao wrapped around Soujiro as he fought becoming one with him as she moved so that to their opponents, it was like fighting one foe that had managed to sprout an extra set of arms and two extra legs that never needed to touch the ground.

The two young lovers spun together dodged together and moved together as if dancing among their enemies, laying low any who would threaten to harm their other half.

Misao stabbed and gouged at any who came near Soujiro's flank or back, while his blade carved wide arcs to protect her from any enemy that might come near. The two finally found themselves in an empty yard, looking around them as the last of the reinforcements arrived.

Hiko and the other swordsmen thundered into the village on their horses, slashing about them to clear a path. The horses reared and the men leapt off to the defense of those they loved. Misao could see Sango and Miroku fighting back to back, while Kenshin stood over a wounded Kaoru. Aoshi had even managed to reach Kamatari, who was the hardest pressed of them at the moment. Hiko and the rest of the men set off for the cave to make certain the others were safe as the remaining fighters began to clear the last of the demons from the field of battle.

"We'll take the horses back in the morning." Hiko was saying as everyone gathered in the village center. The main hut had been destroyed, and apparently so had any animosity between the women and the men. Concern over the welfare of the one's they loved had made the men soften, and the women who were thankful for the protection. Kenshin realized looking back on the days that they had spent in the past that it was most likely that two wars had ended this night.

Kenshin watched as Kagome and Megumi tended to the injuries of anyone that required tending. Sanosuke hugged his adopted girls close while he watched Megumi work and the girls for their part were screaming 'Daddy's home'.

Inuyasha was watching Kagome heal Kaoru, when he turned to his brother. "So don't tell me you're going soft Sesshomaru."

"Watch you tongue half-demon, lest I cut it out. What do you mean?" Sesshomaru said testily as Rin crawled up into his lap to sleep. For once, Jaken wasn't saying a word about it either.

"First, you healed Miroku and Sano, and then you came charging back here as fast as you could to save the village, and then you jump that demon like you're in some sort of bloodlust. I thought you hate humans." Inuyasha said seriously. It almost sounded like he was trying to not be rude with the question. He failed, but still it was the thought that counted.

"I do not hate humans any more than anything else." Sesshomaru said as he reached down and almost tenderly tucked a lock of hair behind the ear of his small ward. She shivered and reached up to pull what at first looked like a fur stole over her shoulders, but what Kenshin now realized was actually Sesshomaru's tail. "However I do disapprove of tainting demon blood with a human's. And unlike you little brother, I take my responsibilities seriously."

Sesshomaru went back to cradling the small girl, but Kenshin noticed that he had been looking at Kagome when he said it. Inuyasha, of course, responded in his customary manner. Namely, violence.

"Why you…" Inuyasha said pulling his sword.

"Inuyasha. Sit!" Kagome commanded as she finished Kaoru's wound and got up carrying a bowl of water and a towel with her as she approached Sesshomaru.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha whined from the ground.

"Sesshomaru, I would like to thank you for saving us and especially for saving Miroku and Sano." Kagome said politely as she knelt next to Sesshomaru.

"I did not wish to join Inuyasha in the dirt." Sesshomaru said with a smirk.

"Still…" Kagome said as she gingerly reached out and started to move Sesshomaru's sleeve. "I want to thank you properly."

Sesshomaru did not resist as Kagome moved his sleeve to reveal the stump of his arm. Kenshin hadn't really been around Sesshomaru enough to realize that he had such a wound. It definitely didn't slow him down in combat.

Kagome looked at the wound and looked at his other arm. "I've never tried this before. I've been studying the healing arts and I would like to try to heal this if you would let me."

Sesshomaru's face betrayed nothing as he looked down at the girl. He didn't say anything for quite a while and Kenshin was almost certain that he was going to refuse when he finally nodded. "If you wish to try."

Kenshin watched as Kagome's hands began to glow. No matter how many times he watched her work magic he never quite got comfortable with it. Sesshomaru didn't move, but finally the arm began to grow from his stump. For long moments it continued to extend as Sesshomaru's face hid the agony he must be feeling. Inuyasha's hand crept to his sword just in case as he watched Sesshomaru's eyes turn red, but the demon never moved or gave any other indication of pain.

When Kagome finished, Sesshomaru looked at his restored arm and flexed it experimentally. "This will do." He said simply.

Sesshomaru gently lifted the girl Rin from his lap and handed her to Kagome. "Your healing of the wound has sapped my energy. I must go feed. I will be gone for a couple of days."

Nobody said a word as Sesshomaru got up and left. Jaken toddled off behind him and Rin dosed easily in Kagome's arms. Everyone looked on Kagome with a new sense of respect as she once again showed how far she'd come in her power and abilities.

There was a clapping heard from the darkness, and everyone turned as Alanor stepped into the firelight followed by Anji and Cho. "I see your powers in healing have been progressing nicely. Well done. I'm not certain I could have performed such a powerful feat." The three came and had a seat just as Tae brought out the evening meal.

"Your timing is exceptional." Hiko said dryly.

"My apologies. It looks like you little army did quite well on its own." Alanor said appreciatively. "You really are the best of the best in your craft."

Most of the younger men were beaming, but the older men just nodded and reached for the sake. Not necessarily to drink, but to rub on the sore spots. Tae served Hiko his meal while the other ladies attended to their men. Kamatari took care of her newly arrived and unattached comrades after seeing to Aoshi.

"So how have things gone?" Alanor said after they'd eaten.

Hiko then proceeded to tell the wizard of all that they'd faced and how they had come to the rescue of a young lord that had been beset by the same demons that had attacked them in the future.

Alanor took all of this in and then pulled out his books. He flipped through looking for the proper references, and finally closed the book. "It's a good thing that you saved that lord. If you had not, then it would have been a severe temporal distortion. One which I'm not certain all of you would have survived." Alanor said seriously.

"Oh, what impact does that lord have on history?" Kenshin asked innocently.

"He is one of the ancestors of the Shogun, Tokugawa. If he had died, it would have changed a great deal of Japan's history." Alanor said with relief.

Kenshin immediately felt his heart sink as Saitoh lost all control of himself and began rolling on the ground pounding his fist into it with laughter. Tears rolled down his face as he looked to the heavens and laughed. "The irony is too sharp!" Saitoh guffawed.

"It's not funny, Saitoh!" Kenshin grated between his teeth.

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

Between fits of laughter, Saitoh managed to sit up and wrap an arm around Kenshin.

"The Battousi here saved that young Lord Tanaka's life today. He was a hero, and Lord Tanaka held him in such high respect he lent us the horses to come thundering back here to the rescue. I just find it amazing that the Battousi here saved the life of the man who will one day have ancestors responsible for the very shogunate that he later has to help destroy during the Bakumatsu!" Saitoh managed to finish before going off into another fit of laughter, and leaning against Kenshin to keep from falling over.

Kenshin thought about it and died a little inside. He then looked at Saitoh and did what any rational, penitent, assassin-turned-protector would do. He decked him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer:** I do not own either Inuyasha or Rurouni Kenshin.

Chapter 20.

"What we NEED is an army." Hiko said irately as he looked over the illusion that Alanor had created of the island. "Not to mention a navy to get it there. This is what we in the business call an 'impregnable fortress'."

"Be that as it may, that's where the gateway is. We need to get in there. If I can get close enough, Kagome and I may be able to close the gate. It's the only hope for getting the time stream corrected." Alanor said seriously.

Alanor, Hiko, and Sesshomaru looked over the area hovering in front of them. Everyone else sat around the campfire eating or talking. "You could always get Kenshin's new buddy to help." Saitoh said happily. It was interesting that Saitoh had apparently come to grips with not being able to kill Kenshin by seeing to it the man never forgot how the shogunate owed him its existence.

For his part, Kenshin looked ready to break his oath at any moment. He might not wish to kill, but Kagome had already healed three black eyes, which never seemed to deter Saitoh.

"What about Kouga?" Kagome asked the three men.

None of the men appeared to recognize the name despite Sesshomaru knowing of him. Inuyasha however was fit to be tied. "There's no way I'm going to ask that mangy wolf for help. I don't care if he IS the head of the wolf clan."

"I would not be so quick to dismiss the idea Inuyasha. The wolves have been allies of father's in the past. Cat demons have no great love for either of our clans." Sesshomaru said quietly. "Having destroyed Naraku, you have brought peace to their lands. This can only help to strengthen your alliance."

"I'd rather die." Inuyasha said bluntly.

"He was only kidding." Kagome said quickly as Sesshomaru started to reach for his sword. "Inuyasha…" Kagome said as Inuyasha jumped up in expectation of the eventual face plant. "Shut up."

"I have a few retainers, but nowhere near the army we would need for this type of battle. These are no ordinary demons. I am curious as to who is directing them." Sesshomaru said looking at Alanor.

"I'm not entirely certain. It could be any number of demon lords, possibly more than one. From the size of the force guarding the gate, I'd say that it isn't one of the lesser ones either." Alanor said in exasperation. "We simply haven't the manpower, or demon-power for this kind of offensive."

Kagome looked down and wished she could sink into the ground. If it hadn't been for Sesshomaru and Tensaiga, people would have died and it would have been entirely her fault. Not for the first time, she wished she could take it all back. Then something Alanor said sparked an idea.

"Alanor-sensei, what do you mean it would 'correct the time stream'?" Kagome asked seriously.

"Well, everything that would have happened as a result of the gate being open from this time forward would be negated. The demons would not have remained and they wouldn't have been there to attack you in the future." Alanor said.

"What if it isn't a matter of 'how' we attack the gate, but 'when'?" Kagome said earnestly. "If we go through the well, then we can go back to before this happened and then the island might not be as heavily guarded."

"It's possible, but the closest we could come to this time would be several decades in the past." Alanor said.

"So if we closed the gate not long after Kikyo burned the jewel with her body, then the demons might not go through the trouble of reopening it because they wouldn't know that I would one day show up with it again." Kagome said hopefully.

Alanor appeared to think about it for a moment. "True. Then you would be able to carry out everything as it occurred in your past without interference. You would have the same journey to reassemble the jewel, and then once it was complete I could still seek you out. The demons wouldn't attack the dojo and everyone would revert to the way things would have gone without your interference."

"Would we remember any of this?" Hiko asked seriously.

"Probably not, why?" Alanor asked. Kagome followed Hiko's gaze to where Tae was cooking something over the fire.

"Because so much has changed for us since coming here. I'm not sure that I would like forgetting all of it." Hiko said solemnly.

"There's no reason you could not repeat what you did here." Alanor said with sympathy.

"I'm not sure. If things had not happened as they did here, I'm not entirely certain we could." Hiko said looking around at everyone. "Still it can't be helped. We have to stop our time from getting invaded and if it means personal sacrifice, then so be it. We've had to do so before."

Alanor nodded and then turned to Kagome. "Very well, we'll leave tomorrow morning. We'll determine who needs to go then."

Kagome watched as everyone got up and headed for their homes. It was hard to believe that she had actually come to think of all of them as a great big family, and that this was like having a village of her own here in the past.

Kamatari lit the lamp as Aoshi started getting undressed. She didn't like what she had heard outside. If everything was made to go back to the way it had been before coming here…

Kamatari couldn't stop crying. She had finally gotten everything she had ever dreamed of or hoped for and now it was going to be erased. She felt Aoshi reach around her waist and pull her into his chest.

"What is troubling you?" He said in a soft tone that she had only recently found him capable of.

"If we succeed you'll forget about me, you'll forget about what we've become." Kamatari said between sobs.

"Then we can start fresh." Aoshi said simply.

Kamatari grappled with what she was about to do. She couldn't go on deceiving him any longer. He had to know the truth, even if it meant he would hate her. It might make the prospect of forgetting what he had come to mean to her more bearable.

"Aoshi there's something you don't know." Kamatari said quietly. "If we go back to the future without our memories and with everything that has happened erased, I won't be able to be with you."

"Why?" Aoshi said with a somewhat puzzled look.

"Aoshi, I'm not what you think I am. I've not always been a woman. When I worked for Shishio, and even when we first came here, I was half woman and half man. Kagome managed to use her magic to change me. I wanted to be with you so badly, but I knew you wouldn't want a freak of nature like me." Kamatari said as she turned to face Aoshi. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the face so she put her head against his chest and waited for his reaction.

His calloused hand cupped her chin and lifted her eyes to his. His eyes had always seemed so cold, but now seemed warm. "I have learned through harsh experience not to dwell in the past. If I dwelled on my past, I would go mad. All that matters to me is what is here and now. What you were makes no difference to me; all I see is the person you are now. Tomorrow we may have all memories erased, and tomorrow we might also die."

Kamatari looked up at him as he slid her kimono off her shoulders. It fell to the floor softly as he picked her up and carried her towards their futon.

"I have no regrets of our time here, and if tomorrow I must loose you then I will spend my time tonight cherishing what time we have left." Aoshi said as he laid her down and pulled the blanket over the two of them. Kamatari didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but in the end she decided to just cherish that moment and let the perils of the coming day wait until then.

Tae busied herself around the cook fire until everyone had gone to bed. Hiko was the only one still awake. She wandered over to him and sat down next to him. She handed him some food as he sat staring into the fire.

"You look distracted, I understand that can be fatal for swordsmen." Tae said as she sipped on some tea.

"I'm just thinking." Hiko said without looking at her. "Tae, have you ever been in love?"

Tae was taken back by the question but tried to regain her composure. "Not really. I've had crushes on a couple of men before, but nothing very serious. I've always kept busy tending my restaurant."

"I've always been busy fighting and teaching." Hiko agreed. "Alanor says that if we succeed in closing the gate that we won't remember anything that happened while we were here."

Tae nodded. She's heard some of the women saying something about it. Then she looked at Hiko sharply, was he trying to say…

Hiko looked at her for the first time and had a serious look on his face. "Do you think things would have been the same between us if we hadn't come to the past like this?"

"I don't know." Tae confessed. "Do I mean that much to you?"

"I'm starting to think so. I've never let myself care too much about anyone. It wasn't until I met you that I thought it might have been a mistake. It felt good to have someone who cared for me enough to take the sake out of my hands." Hiko said looking back at the fire. "It felt good to have something else that helped me sleep."

Tae had never admitted it to herself, but she had enjoyed having Hiko. Even their arguments brought a smile to her face. Tae got up and walked in front of Hiko, she reached down and pulled him up. The man towered over her but allowed himself to be led.

Tae led him silently to the hut they had been staying in. She left him outside as she darted in and returned with a lantern. "You and I are going to the hot spring. Maybe once this is over, you might happen by a restaurant and decide to have a meal. Maybe while I'm visiting my sister, I'll want to buy some pottery. Who knows?" Tae said trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"Tae." Hiko said causing Tae to turn and look at him. "If I never get the chance to say this again, I love you."

Tae felt a couple of tears forming in her eyes that she was trying desperately not to let fall. "I know, and I couldn't have asked for a more decent man to fall in love with either. I love you too, Hiko."

The two of them headed of for the hot spring arm in arm.

"The fewer people we have the better." Alanor said over breakfast. "The demons know we're here now, so if you make a stand here at the village they'll probably attack it. If they don't realize that Kagome and I aren't here it will give us time to get to the gate and close it."

Everyone was nodding. Kagome felt badly for all of them. Some of the women looked like they had spent the night crying. The men had determined looks on their faces.

"I recommend that Kagome and I go alone." Alanor said finally.

Inuyasha jumped up ready to scream his defiance. Kagome got between the half demon and the wizard before things could get out of hand and laid her hands on his chest. Inuyasha looked ready to murder Alanor despite the restraint. "And what makes you think I'm going to trust Kagome to you alone?"

"Because if you do not, you will never see her again." Alanor said coldly.

Kagome turned to look at the wizard. He was looking at Inuyasha in annoyance. "When we close the gate, it will create a backlash. Any demon near it will be drawn into the vortex and sucked into the netherworld."

"I'll risk it. I'm not going to let Kagome get hurt." Inuyasha said defiantly.

"Fine, suit yourself. The rest of you need to hide the fact that Kagome and I are not here. If the demons figure out what we're doing, it could jeopardize everything." Alanor said as he packed his things.

Everyone nodded and Kagome got what few things she had ready. The village bid the three of them farewell as Alanor created the bubble that sent them flying over the landscape at high speed. He kept it low to the ground, and he kept his eyes open for anything that might spot them.

Inuyasha settled down to rest and Kagome sat down watching the forest and fields slipping by. "So what do I need to do once we get there?" Kagome asked her mentor.

"The spell is too complex for you to cast. All I will need you to do is open yourself to the power. Once I focus the spell, it will require all the power that you and I both possess to close the portal." Alanor said before glancing up. "Ah, here we are."

The three of them stepped out of the bubble next to the well. Kagome looked down into the depths before looking to the two men with her. "Here goes."

The three hopped down the well and Alanor began focusing his mind. Kagome felt a short lurch and then she looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed much.

Inuyasha grabbed Kagome and leaped out of the well as Alanor levitated. The three stood there for a moment before Inuyasha noticed something. "That's me there isn't it?"

"Yes, so don't go over and touch. I'm not even going to tell you what happens when two bodies occupy the same space in time." Alanor said looking at the past version of Inuyasha hanging in the tree by an arrow.

The three crept away until they were far enough from the village to keep from attracting notice. Suddenly, Inuyasha perked up. "I smell Naraku."

"No Inuyasha. I know that it is tempting to destroy him, but you can't disturb the timeline. You must let everything run its course." Alanor said firmly.

This didn't seem to convince Inuyasha until Alanor said something else that stopped him in his tracks. "You could be hurting Kagome."

"What?" Inuyasha said bewildered.

"If you disrupt the timeline, you could change the past. You might never meet Miroku or Sango. You might never get down off that tree. How many times have you saved Kagome? You might change the future so that Kagome dies." Alanor said gravely.

Inuyasha nodded his head and settled back. The globe once again surrounded them and they shot off towards the island with the demon gate. Kagome watched everything racing by, it reminded her of the train back home. "Alanor-sama, do you really think that if Inuyasha had killed Naraku I would have been killed?"

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." Alanor said as he watched the horizon.

Inuyasha was on his feet in a moment ready to take the mage's head off. "What do you mean? You mean I could have just saved us a lot of heartache?"

"No. I mean you couldn't have hurt Kagome by doing it. She has had her destiny erased by the council. Nothing you do to her past can change her as she is now, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't have royally messed up yourself, Miroku, or Sango." Alanor said gravely.

"Then why did you…" Inuyasha started.

"Because you wouldn't have listened to any other reason." Alanor said shortly. "Now be quiet. We'll be getting close to the island soon and I don't want you announcing our presence."

The three flew until they reached the shore of the ocean. There, Alanor dropped his sphere and slowly began to transform into a massive sea turtle. He looked at Inuyasha and Kagome until they climbed onto his back and he began to swim for the island. It took a long time, and Kagome began to feel the demonic aura, as they got closer. It was nearly powering by the time they got there.

"I don't think I've ever sensed anything this powerful." Kagome said in awe.

"Just think what it would be like in the future." Alanor said seriously. "Now let's go."

The three of them crept toward the interior of the island. Everything there seemed to have darkened. There was still the light of day, but everything seemed to be cast into a darker hue as if the whole world was in shadow. No one spoke as they closed in on a clearing where Inuyasha could feel the demonic aura coming in waves.

"It's here." Alanor said looking around.

"I don't see anything." Kagome said uneasily.

"The portal isn't currently active. It only fully opens when a demon enters this world. It is a mercifully rare occurrence." Alanor said as he turned to Inuyasha. "This is where you must leave us. Get back, so that you won't be drawn into the vortex."

Kagome thought that Inuyasha might argue but finally stomped of to find a place to get down. Once he was a safe distance away, Alanor turned to her.

"What we are about to attempt will require a great deal of power. Now here is your next lesson, channeling your power to someone else. Just like the well, you need to imagine the person. In this case however you have to imagine them _as they are._ Anything they do, you must also imagine in your mind. You have to concentrate, and focus your energy into your mind. Push your energy into the image of the person in your mind. The more accurate your mental image, the more power you can transfer." Alanor said as he instructed her in the use of her power.

After a few minutes, Kagome had managed to channel. Alanor nodded. "Not great, but it will do. Let's get started."

Kagome focused her energy and concentrated on Alanor. Alanor began to chant and she made her mental image of him chant as well. As his hands began to weave a complex pattern in the air, Kagome watched and tried to make her mental image do the same.

Kagome began to feel the power build as the air began to ripple. She was surrounded by a pale blue light, which she recognized as her aura of power. Alanor was surrounded by a deep green glow. Slowly, his aura began to merge with her own as her power began to pour into him for the energy that would be needed to complete the spell.

Inuyasha watched as Kagome and the jerk-mage began working. He snorted and got down a little closer to the ground as he felt the wind begin to pick up blowing into the clearing where Kagome and Alanor were casting their magic.

Suddenly the air rippled and a glowing disc opened into the center of the clearing. Alanor and Kagome looked up as two large tentacles whipped out of the portal wrapping themselves around the pair.

Inuyasha jumped up from his hiding place and raced towards the portal as he saw Kagome and Alanor pulled in. He jumped for the glowing disc trying to reach it before it closed. The last thing he remembered before everything going black was the familiar sounding laughter that made it to his ears.

Inuyasha didn't know how long he had been asleep. Slowly, he felt himself starting to stir.

"Inuyasha." A familiar voice said.

Inuyasha didn't know whom the voice belonged to, but he didn't want to move.

"Inuyasha. Get up." The voice insisted.

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes to look at the figure in front of him. Naraku stood before him smiling. "I see you are finally awake."

Inuyasha looked around. He was hanging from the roof of some sort of cavern. Next to him, he could see Alanor already awake. Inuyasha looked around the area looking for Kagome.

"She's not here Inuyasha." Naraku said with satisfaction.

"What have you done with Kagome?" Inuyasha said haggardly.

"She is being… prepared." Naraku said still smiling.

"You're supposed to still be alive in this time." Alanor said accusingly.

Naraku laughed before turning his attention to the old man. "Did you think that you were the only being capable of traversing time? Once my plans went awry and Inuyasha killed me I was sent here to the underworld. Using what remained of my power, I came back to this time hoping to warn my past self of the dangers that Inuyasha and the others posed to me. Without the jewel however, I was too weak to affect the outside world. How strange that I should catch you three just outside the portal."

"You mean that you're…" Inuyasha said incredulously.

"Inuyasha! Say nothing." Alanor commanded.

"It makes little difference what brought you here Inuyasha. Just know that now I'm going to have my final revenge." Naraku whispered.

"What are you going to do?" Inuyasha said in apprehension.

"I need a new body to leave this place. I intend to take Kagome's. I think I may even find Kikyo and take her soul with me when I leave. Then I shall leave this place and seal the gateway behind me. I shall leave you as you left me. Imprisoned. Forever." Naraku said looking fiercely at the half demon. "Good-bye Inuyasha."

Inuyasha struggled to free himself as the demon left the two of them. Once he was gone Inuyasha turned on the mage. "Fat lot of good it did for me to be standing so far away! Kagome got captured because of you!"

"Oh, shut up Inuyasha. At least now we know who's responsible." Alanor groused. "He apparently has no further knowledge of the future. This is actually a lucky break. If we can free and seal the gate, we won't have to worry about him opening it again."

"Well, if you haven't noticed, neither of us is in any real shape to move right now!" Inuyasha shot back.

"Inuyasha?" A female voice said to him.

Inuyasha turned toward the sound and was staring directly into the face of Kikyo. His heart immediately began to ache as he looked at her.

"How could you Inuyasha?" Kikyo said accusingly. "You killed me."

"A friend of yours?" Alanor asked quietly.

Remembrance struck Inuyasha. This was just after Kikyo had died the first time. He looked at her with longing as his heart began trying to beat its way free of his chest.

"Kikyo, no. It wasn't me. We were tricked." Inuyasha pleaded desperately.

"Tricked?" Kikyo said in disbelief.

"A demon named Naraku tricked us. He attacked you using my appearance and then attacked me using yours. Kikyo, I'm sorry." Inuyasha said nearly in tears.

Inuyasha looked up to only an empty cavern. Alanor was still hanging next to him. "Where did she go?"

"She was never really here." Alanor said seriously. "This is the underworld, or rather the afterlife. Here, the events of our life shape what we see."

"So this is hell." Inuyasha said looking at the place where Kikyo had stood.

"Or heaven." Alanor continued. "It is the reflection of that which is within your soul."

Inuyasha looked around and saw his sword discarded off to one side. The idea of dying and having to relive the pain of loosing Kikyo didn't exactly thrill him. "This can't be happening."

"What did you expect, physical danger? Some powerful individuals can move into someone else's realm, but for the most part this place is keyed to an individual's soul. Your power as a demon must be bringing up your own images here. Since we came here bodily, I imagine that we are inside Naraku's version. Does this cave look familiar?" Alanor asked.

"Yeah. It's the cave where he was wounded and Kikyo healed him." Inuyasha said wearily. "Any ideas about how we're going to get out of here and save Kagome?"

"None immediately come to mind." Alanor said sadly.

Inuyasha thought about loosing Kagome. It was then that he heard her voice. Inuyasha looked to see her standing there. She was dying and there was nothing he could do. "Inuyasha, why didn't you protect me?"

This image finally faded as well. Inuyasha felt a tear fall down his cheek. "Are these images real?"

"As real as you or I in this place." Alanor said looking around haunted.

"Why haven't you seen anything?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm trying to keep my mind clear so that I don't conjure anything." Alanor said stiffly.

Inuyasha thought about his situation. If he didn't find a way out soon he wouldn't be able to stop Naraku. A thought then occurred to Inuyasha. He quickly concentrated on a particularly painful image.

The woman that stood before him looked sad. She was dressed regally and he remembered her face clearly. She looked at him and sighed.

"Mother. Help me." Inuyasha pleaded. "Bring me my sword."

The image of his mother looked up at him and wavered, then she moved to where the Tetsaiga lay and lifted it. The sword responded to her touch and grew in size.

Inuyasha focused on the pain of loosing his mother, willing her form to remain before him. He blocked out everything but the pain. "Mother. Please strike the ceiling and release me."

The figure of his mother walked over to him and looked at him sadly before striking the ceiling above him with the sword. The rock gave way and Inuyasha tumbled to the floor along with the Tetsaiga.

"A brilliant idea." Alanor complimented. "Now get me down and we'll see if we can find Kagome."

Inuyasha picked up his sword and struck the roof of the cave. Alanor dropped to the ground free of the stone as well.

"Let's go get Kagome." Inuyasha said with a growl.

Inuyasha and Alanor set off at a run out of the cavern. The two ran out into the dark forest beyond. Inuyasha immediately picked up Kagome's scent. She was close.

Inuyasha didn't have time to wait on Alanor so he threw him up onto his back and set off after Naraku. The whole experience still bothered him though. "Alanor, about all those images, is that all I have to look forward to when I die?"

"Right now perhaps." Alanor said seriously. "If you want to change what you see here you have to change what it is that generates what you see here. Namely, you."

"I've had a lot of pain to deal with in my life." Inuyasha said defensively.

"Then I would concentrate the rest of your life on healing that pain and finding something to make your afterlife more joyful." Alanor said sagely. "I think Kagome could help you in that."

Inuyasha bowed his head as he ran. He had always hated being alone. He had also always feared loosing Kagome. He resolved to make sure he never needed to fear loosing her again.

The two ran through the forest until they reached a clearing. There they saw the 'preparations'. Kagome was stretched out over a dome shaped rock with her chest arched into the air. She had been changed into a black and purple gown. Naraku was there as well holding the jewel over her. It was obvious that Naraku was not having any easy time of it.

"Give in to the evil girl." Naraku said through gritted teeth.

Kagome never had a chance to answer as Inuyasha dropped Alanor as he collided with Naraku. In that moment, Inuyasha forgot anything about sword style or fighting. He attacked like a feral dog.

Naraku fell back from the vicious assault before lashing back out at Inuyasha. Inuyasha ducked and with a slash from his claws severed the hand holding the jewel. Naraku dove for the jewel, but Inuyasha once again barreled into him carrying him away from Kagome.

"Alanor! Get Kagome and the Jewel out of here!" Inuyasha howled.

He did not look back to see if Alanor had heard him as he narrowly dodged a shot meant to decapitate him. Naraku hissed and swiped at his face before driving his newly reformed claw into his chest. "I will take YOUR body instead!" Naraku growled at him.

Inuyasha clawed at his opponent as their surroundings began to shift. The forest disappeared and they were standing on a cliff overlooking a sea of fire and magma. Inuyasha pulled free of Naraku and pushed him back.

Inuyasha looked around to see Alanor and Kagome on the other side of the gateway, once again reciting the spell. Inuyasha tried to run for the gate, but Naraku's weight crashed into his back.

"No. You will not escape from me." Naraku bellowed.

The wind began to howl around them, and Inuyasha looked up as the gateway started to close.

"Inuyasha, HURRY!" Kagome cried desperately.

Inuyasha struggled trying to break free of Naraku's grasp. He was slowly being blown back from the portal and Kagome. He dug his claws into the ground trying to fight his way towards her.

Suddenly, the weight was gone from Inuyasha's back and he barreled toward the gate. As he reached it, he looked back to see what had become of Naraku.

Inuyasha looked back to see Naraku writhing in the iron grip of a dog demon that looked remarkably like Sesshomaru. Inuyasha guessed that he himself probably looked a lot like him too.

Inuyasha was transfixed looking back at the figure of his father. His father looked at him and smiled. "Go son. Protect her."

Inuyasha turned and pushed his way through the gate. Once on the other side, he dug his claws into the ground to keep from being pulled back in. The world seemed to be being pulled in all around him until finally the wind ceased.

Inuyasha looked up to see if everyone was okay, when a weight fell on him again.

Kagome wrapped her arms around Inuyasha's neck and wept against his back.

"I was afraid I was going to loose you." Kagome sobbed.

"Never." Inuyasha replied.

Epilogue.

Hiko slowly opened his eyes. The world slowly came into focus and he sat up looking around. A few days ago he had attended a party at the home of his student, but now he was having trouble remembering the past few days.

All around him people were starting to stir. They were in the dojo. Kenshin lived here with Kaoru. That much he remembered at least. He finally felt steady enough to stand and looked around for Yahiko and Tsubame. He didn't know why, he just felt he needed to make sure they were safe for some reason.

"Man, does anyone remember what happened?" Sano asked looking around the room.

"The last thing I remember was throwing a party of Anji." Kenshin said shaking his head trying to clear the cobwebs.

"I guess we must have passed out drinking then." Sano said looking for the sake bottles.

"Not unless the party lasted several days." Saitoh said looking at the calendar on the wall.

Everyone looked around trying to figure out what was going on.

Hiko COULD remember something from the past few days. It was strange, but it was like he had two memories, one was almost like a dream. He remembered staying here to annoy his student for a while, but in his dream he had met a woman.

Hiko looked at Tae as she apparently looked back at him as if remembering something herself. Others were looking at each other uneasily as they tried to process what happened.

"Daddy!" The two young girls exclaimed as they awoke and immediately latched onto Sanosuke.

A lot of people were looking at each other in wonderment. Finally, someone spoke up. "I remember there being more people here." Kenshin said in confusion.

"A female ninja, no, a demon slayer." Misao said to herself.

"And another monk." Anji agreed.

Everyone grappled with the idea of having been living the past few days as normal and then ending up back together again like this.

Hiko looked at Tae. He remembered looking her in the eyes and telling her that he loved her, but it was as if it were all a dream. He remembered seeing her at the party, and they had talked briefly, but then she had left and he had remained here.

Soujiro and Misao were also looking at each other. They would blush and look away, only to return to staring at each other.

"Was it all just a dream?" Aoshi asked rhetorically.

"No." Kamatari said.

Everyone looked at her. The transvestite looked at the rest of them with a look of supreme happiness on her face. "It wasn't a dream." She said as she stood and wrapped her arms around Aoshi and laid her cheek against his chest. "It was all real."

The little ball hovered in front of the group sitting around the well. In it, they could see the people starting to look around and smile to each other. The former transvestite was crying as she clutched Aoshi as if afraid to let him go.

"Are you satisfied now?" Alanor groused.

"Yes." Kagome said watching her friends return to their old lives, with new hope. "For now."


End file.
